Shadow League
by Bad Luck Novelist
Summary: Second part of the Shadow League Team series, and sequel of Master of the World. When Ash's becoming the Shadow Master causes a chain reaction, and the corrupted Pokemon League tries to take over, will he be able to save them all from a doomed future?
1. Chapter One: The Awakening

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Pokemon, its characters, locations, or names. All of them, with the exception of the original characters, belong to Nintendo

Credits: The original fan fiction Shadow League was based off, Pokemon Master, was written by Acey. I retrieved permission before starting this the first time.

A/N: Hey, I bet a lot of you wouldn't of thought I'd go back and really get through rewriting this. XD I'm nearly finished (just have to edit everything and rewrite Chapter 19...again.)

Anyway, I did originally finish the first version July 17th, 2003, and have now started this one a few months back. (January? Something, maybe earlier) It was only in the past month or so that I've really been cracking down on finishing it, with the goal of doing so before school starts again.

As it is, I've been making a lot of changes throughout the story, though I'll go into them for each chapter rather then here, at the end of each chapter. XD As for this chapter, not much was really changed. I kept to what happened, just rewording things differently, adding a little more detail, and stuff like that..which is basically a given for all of the chapters.

As I've been writing it, I started posting this on Bulbagarden and on deviantART to get some comments on it before I put it here. If you really wanna read ahead, go there and look for it. :)

Warnings: The pairing in this is RivalSibling. This fanfiction has a lot of violence and gore, not to mention some language, and implied rape/sex. Not for kids, that's for sure.

- - -

- Chapter 1: The Awakening - 

The small form that was curled up in the bed rolled over onto her back, and opened green eyes. Blinking sleepily, she stretched, her back arcing lithely as she twisted. She waited until she could at least see the dim outlines of the room before getting up clumsily, climbing out of bed, and tripped over to the door. Carefully, she pulled it open and exited, pulling it closed again with a soft click.

She was, unsurprisingly for she had the willowy frame of an adolescent, only a teenager, though her behavior was that of an adult by most measures. Most of the time, she went by the name of May.

The hallway was dimly lit, mostly because May didn't want to have to turn on a light every time she went to check up on her presently injured lover. Padding over to the first door on the left, she entered it without a word. Just as the hall, the lighting was set low. Situated around the room where multiple machines, all of them medical and extremely high-tech.

One caught her eye though, and it was no surprise. It took up more space then any of the others alone, and with good reason. That machine was a glass-domed life-support system, with metal reinforcements and computers monitoring the progress and conditions. May curled up on the floor, her legs bent under her, and a troubled look in her eyes.

"Ash…" she asked, frowning at the contraption that was holding the man in question, "Of all the things to happen to you, it had to be something this major…you just had to get yourself hurt."

She blinked, staring at the eerily still figure inside. May rubbed her eyes, before looking again. _Did he just…_move she thought, feeling around her for the phone that was sure to be nearby.

Her hand shaking, May called the doctor that was currently staying in one of the rooms close by, not daring to leave the room to go fetch him personally. The groggy voice on the other end of the line mumbled obscenities, before he realized who it was. "I'll be there in a few minutes," came the terse reply, and the line went dead as he hung up.

May twisted around when the door swung open, and looked at the middle-aged doctor that stood watching her curiously. He ran a hand through his brown and gray hair to straighten it out. "What happened?" he asked, rubbing the remaining sleep from his eyes.

_Doctor Summers…_ she thought, before indicating the machine. "I think he moved, or at least tried to," May said, moving out of the doctor's way.

"Hmmm…" He looked into the dome, taking mental notes of any changes he saw. When he finished, he nodded affirmatively. "I believe you are right...look, his head is turned toward the side, and he's clenching his fists."

"What does that mean?" she asked, staring blankly at Dr. Summers. He smiled reassuringly, before walking over to work on one of the computers.

"That means Ash could wake up at any time, since he can obviously hear, or at least sense, us." Ash twitched again, catching May's attention. She bit her lip thoughtfully, watching the still form.

She yelped, startling the concentrating doctor, when Ash's eyes snapped open. When the initial scare wore off, May smiled at the weary man. The smile turned into a frown though, when she noticed his expression; his eyes were wide and unfocused – which made her uneasy, since they looked lighter then before – and he was plainly terrified and confused.

"Could you let him out?" May glanced toward Dr. Summers, who gave her a sympathetic look and a shrug in response. She scowled.

"I need to make sure he can be out first," he replied edgily, returning to his work. May sighed and looked at Ash hopelessly. He watched her from in the misty liquid, worrying his lower lip with his teeth. Going wide-eyed again, he curled into a tight ball, covering his head and neck with his arms, trembling. The doctor looked up.

"GET AWAY FROM IT!" Dr. Summers yelled when the life-support capsule started glowing blue-black. He dove to the side, pulling May with him, and tumbled behind a table. They flinched when there was an explosion and the room was showered in metal, glass, and the medicinal liquid that had formerly filled the chamber.

"What was that?" May asked, though it came out as a strained squeak. She peeked over the broken table to look. Dr. Summers picked at the shrapnel that was in his hair, frowning at her. The system that had held Ash was demolished, most of it laying in pieces around the room.

Ash was on the floor, his back against the wall. He was panting from exerting so much energy in the blast, staring pitifully at his knees. Scowling, he scrambled to get up, trying to get a hold of some type of handhold on the wall. When it looked like he'd managed it, his legs would give out, and he'd crumble to the floor. The scowl returning, he tried several more times before giving up; he plopped back down with a defeated sigh.

May looked at the doctor and got up, trudging over to him through the rubble. Ash looked at her forlornly, giving May another sight of his eyes – she blinked again, coming to the conclusion that she was not mental and that something had made his eyes lighter, and more of a gold color. She decided to ask about it, but left it for a later time. "How're you feeling? All right?"

May felt her heart break, when Ash turned to face forward, looking on the verge of tears. She twitched, and pulled him over to her, wrapping her arms around him gently. It was unnerving how clammy he was, but she blew it off in light of the situation. Ash turned his head, mumbling into her shoulder quietly. It took several moments of prodding for him to finally speak up; "I can't stand." he said, his voice rough from its lack of use, "…can't stand, can't walk. All I've managed is to blow up that machine…thing. How?"

"Well…" she looked uneasily at Dr. Summers, who shrugged and hurried off for some towels, before sighing, "You don't remember?" May had to bite her lip, stopping the giggle that came up when Ash _attempted_ to scoot over closer, but ended up doing no more then wiggling. He scowled at her, before getting a curious look.

"Remember what?" She blanched. May was amazed; it was near impossible to forget such an incident as the one that caused him to be put into that tank!

"You have got to be kidding? You don't remember anything? Kiall? Ancient Ball? Evil Shadow Master near killing you?" Ash started biting on his lip once again, this time thoughtfully, before shaking his head. She sighed, before shifting to get comfortable, taking the towel that Dr. Summers brought back and using it to start drying Ash off – getting another scowl and a protest that he 'could do it himself.' He nearly managed it except for his hair, which had grown a bit longer then he remembered it being, when she humored him and let him. "OK then, now if you'll stop glaring at me like I just tried to poison you, I might actually explain it all."

Ash once again put his head against May's shoulder, nodding passively.

- - -

"Are you sure they won't do anything?" May peeked around Ash, eyeing the offending Ancient Ball nervously. He rubbed the polished globe with his thumb, turning it in his hand, before smiling soothingly at her.

"Well, none of them have been opened, and I doubt are able to be anyway. Anything in them, is staying there," he said, admiring one of the artifacts that had taken so long to get.

"They're glowing." she pointed out, "That has to mean something!" Ash shook his head, dismissing it as nothing, but May noticed the suddenly uneasy look he had. Laughing nervously, he looked around to find where the final Ancient Ball would go.

"If anything does happen…I'll handle it just fine." It seemed to May that Ash was trying to convince himself of that, instead of her. She stayed silent however, as he carefully placed the glowing ball atop the Kanto Item, and backed off quickly. The light glow the Items and Ancient Balls had taken grew brighter, to a dark blue-black wavering glow.

Ash stepped back, with May matching his steps, as the Items started vibrating with a hidden force. She hid behind him, near to tears out of simple fear; nothing on her pokemon journey had been able to strike fear such as this into her. When she looked at Ash, his expression mirrored how she felt.

The seals on the Ancient Balls broke open, and a bright red light – much like the one of a normal poke ball – shot out and hit the others, until the one on the Kanto Item opened. It unleashed a blue light, matching the dark glow they had, and it materialized into a tall form. Features and details formed, and before long a man stood in front of the Holder, looking extremely disgruntled.

Holding his breath, Ash stared in wide-eyed fascination at the stranger, his mouth slightly open. Almost five minutes went by before anyone made a move. Scowling, the stranger stared back at them. "Who the hell are you?" he asked.

"Kindness isn't a talent of yours, I see," Ash said. He looked at May, who had started pulling urgently at his sleeve. "What?"

He saw what was bothering her, when he saw past the red-eyed man to the Holder, which was once again vibrating with leashed energy. Even the stranger turned around, eyeing it solemnly. With a crack, the Kanto Item split down the center, a smaller Ancient Ball revealed.

"You gotta be kidding…another one of these things?" Ash groaned, rubbing his temples. His exasperation ended fast enough though, as a confusing longing to pick up the new object surfaced. Bending to the will of the caller easily, he started to slowly walk toward the Holder. May grabbed his arm, trying to hold him back.

"Please, stay away from it, Ash!" May pleaded, pulling on him. Ash turned to look at her apologetically, and shook her off. The stranger hurried out of the way, as Ash walked past, and stopped in front of the Item. He pulled the pieces off, leaving bare the remaining Ancient Ball. It shot up into the air, startling the young man, and hovered above him silently.

When Ash relaxed, thinking it was safe, the Ancient Ball vibrated and went flying at him. Swatting it away, he glared at their visitor. "What are you laughing at?" he asked, yelping and ducking down.

"You." was the calm reply, "Idiot, you sealed your fate the minute I was unleashed."

"Shut up!" Ash snapped, "Who are you anyway?" He growled, edging over to May. She looked worriedly at him. The stranger laughed cruelly, as the Ancient Ball hovered in the air.

"Me? I am Kiall…" he said, pulling his cloak close. Kiall took a deep breath, and opened his glowing red eyes. "…the Shadow Master."

"Oh, that's just great." Ash was eyeing the floating orb warily, not trusting it any longer. "We have a crazed Ancient Ball and an evil maniac who should be 1000 years dead and buried in the same room. I just love today, don't you May?"

"Oh, um…" May said, pulling him over, "It's about to try to kill you again, if you didn't notice." Ash's eyes widened, as he turned to look. The Ancient Ball vibrated, before releasing a beam of dark blue-black energy, forcing the trio back. Kiall's mouth formed an oval as he watched the energy take shape – a sphere.

It hummed quietly, hanging in midair passively. "The SE Sphere." Kiall muttered, getting curious looks from the frightened lovers, "What?"

"What's that?" May asked, finally recovering from the initial shock. Kiall rolled his eyes, and scowled at her. He didn't like meddling _children_.

"It means the Shadow Element Sphere," he sighed. Ash and May looked at each other, then at Kiall blankly. He scowled even deeper, his eyes narrowed into blood colored slits. He had no patience for ignorance. "It unlocks the power within the Shadow Master at the time of Awakening. It also brings about the Elements in other…Masters."

Kiall spat the term _Master_, as if it was an acid to him. May slid her hand into Ash's, taking comfort in the connection. "Then why doesn't it get on with it and stop trying to kill him? What's it want with us anyway?" she asked, her voice strained.

The elder man hid his shock at how bold and upfront she was. He smiled without humor, seeing just how many years had gone by – which, in fact, had been a thousand. "Kill? Bah." He turned his look to Ash, who stepped backward defensively. "I assume you are the Chosen One for this time. As that is most likely the case, I'll get to the point so I can get out of here…if you couldn't tell already, you're destined to be the Shadow Master for…this era."

"Oh, lovely." Ash turned slightly, shaking his head. "What is next, killer pokemon…"

"Yes sir. Lucky for you, they won't obey an order. Now me, on the other hand, they will." May looked at Ash, worrying her lower lip. He was visibly shaken already, and she doubted they had seen the worse of what was to happen. Kiall smirked at them, before stepping to the side, out of the way. The Sphere shot toward them, it blurring with the speed.

Ash pulled May down with him to the floor, as it flew past and nearly hit the wall behind them. It went back to the Holder, just barely touching one of the Ancient Balls, turning it to dust. "You're just delaying the inevitable," Kiall sneered, his eyes glowing.

"I refuse it!" Ash said, his voice wavering, "I don't want it!" Growing increasingly impatient, Kiall glared at him. If the Sphere was left to its own devices, it would cause more damage then it was worth…he wanted the world intact for him to work on. And to stop the Sphere from unleashing the full force of the Shadow Element in one shot, he had to do _something_…

"If you will not take your fate willingly, you will just have to be forced!" Kiall growled, putting his arm up, parallel with the floor, with his fingers outstretched. Ash's eyes widened fearfully, as he actually felt the control he had over himself fade to nothing. Kiall had almost total control of the movements Ash made. The younger man stood up straight. It was like a puppet being made to move by the puppeteer.

May leapt up, taking hold of Ash's arm and glaring back at Kiall. "No, get away." Ash said, grinding his teeth with the effort of trying to regain control of his body, "No-"

Kiall flicked his wrist. Ash shoved May away roughly, the force knocking her to the ground. He bit his tongue, holding back the curses he wanted to fling at the man standing only feet away, as May stared at him, looking hurt from the attack. The Shadow Master's eyes narrowed once again in concentration, as he fought the younger man's attempts to loosen his grip. "Obey! She means nothing to the ones that deemed this so!" Kiall snapped.

Ash gave a strangled cry, as Kiall willed him to walk toward the Holder, and toward the glowing blue-black sphere that waited. He spasmed, as he instead collapsed down, denying the order with all his might. Kiall growled, using his spell of manipulation to force him back up, and toward the Sphere. May's shoulders shook, her eyes watering up from the fear and hopelessness that had taken over.

At that moment, there was only one thing she could do. May screamed, the sound ringing through the room, and the hall outside.

Kiall ran over and threw a hand over her mouth, cutting off the blood curdling noise abruptly. May looked satisfied, even though the idea had been, for the most part, ruined; someone should have heard it by that time anyway. Ash was still, stuck between Kiall's tightening grip and his own wanting to get away, but he nodded his approval stiffly.

"Let it be done!" Kiall said, once again concentrating fully on Ash. Biting down on his lip, tasting his own blood, Ash reluctantly stepped up to the Sphere, which hummed louder then ever. He gripped the edge of the Holder, trembling, before he was maneuvered to put his hands around the bottom of the Sphere. It gently landed in his cupped hands, its surface feeling like a liquid, yet it was unsubstantial.

Letting go, Kiall stood back on his heels, his lip curled in another sneer. There was no way for Ash to back out, or to get away from the Sphere. Several painfully silent minutes went by, with only their breathing to indicate anyone was actually in the room. The Sphere seemed to melt in Ash's hands, fading into a translucent blue color, before disappearing.

Nothing happened at first, before a searing pain ran through, each nerve being wracked with a white-hot, lightning fire that didn't relent. The scream that was unleashed, filled with the agony of having his very self being attacked by the unknown force, rattled May down to the bone. "A…A…Ash…" she whispered, watching her lover grip the Holder again in an attempt to stay the pain.

A sudden silence fell over the room, as they watched Ash. His shoulders rose and fell with his heavy breathing, most of his breath stolen. After what seemed like an eternity to the teenage girl, he fell like a leaden weight to the floor, the resounding thud breaking the panicked paralyzation.

May scrambled to get over to him, pulling Ash up so that his head was against her chest, half-sitting up. He was gasping for air, and nearly unconscious. "Why?" she asked, hatred threaded through the single word.

"I told you before," Kiall said quietly, turning so his back was to them, "the ones not of this planet decided his destiny."

When there were footsteps just outside the door, he looked down, and pulled his cloak tight around him. "Until we meet again." Before May could turn to look at him, he had disappeared.

- - -

"…then when they found us in there, we called Dr. Summers and had this equipment brought in. You wouldn't believe how many old books we had to look through to see what was actually happening. I guess it was like a major shock to your system, so it'd be like an Elemental coma, if you will." Ash had watched May as she talked, blinking sleepily as if she was telling a fairytale instead of the story of what had happened to him. "So far Kiall has taken over the Pokemon League, and has attempted to take over Kanto, Johto, and the Orange Islands."

"Why me? Why does this always happen!" Ash sank down lower, burying his face in the loose folds of May's shirt. "What am I supposed to do now? I can't do anything even remotely helpful," he asked.

"Don't worry about it. You just need to recover," May said calmly, getting a glare from Ash. "Not in a good mood I see."

"Would you be! My god, the world is doomed, that idiot has taken total control of the Pokemon League, and no one is doing anything to stop him!" he said sourly. May tightened her embrace around him.

"They don't know how. Ash, it's total chaos. People are going crazy because some of them are getting Elements when they never had them before, and pokemon are in no better state," she replied quietly. He bit his lip, looking at May with confusion. "Come on, let's get you in bed. This can all be discussed more when you are better rested."

Dr. Summers looked up from cleaning up the room, dropping the bag that had the glass he had picked up in it, to help them up. He pulled Ash up off the floor, letting him lean unsteadily on the doctor. When Ash had somewhat stabilized himself, he tried walking with help; his knees buckled under him. May pushed herself up, adding her own support. It didn't help any.

With a sympathetic shake of his head, Dr. Summers lifted the suffering, crestfallen young man. He nearly choked from shock, his eyes widening. Ash couldn't possibly have been of a normal weight, and it unnerved him how light he was. It surely wasn't healthy for someone of his age and height.

In silence, they went into the darkened bedroom, none of them voicing a thought. Dr. Summers gently put Ash down on the bed, before turning and walking out, indicating that May should follow. She looked hesitantly at Ash, who shrugged, before following the older man. When the door was shut, he looked at her seriously. "It will most likely be a long time before his strength is built up to where he will be able to do most of his normal activities without struggling," he said, folding his arms across his chest.

"And what are we to do in the meanwhile? Isn't there any way to speed up the process?" May asked, looking at the door, her hand on the handle. The doctor thoughtfully watched her, before nodding. "What then?"

"First we need to at least get Ash walking again, and to build up his muscles again. I can call in a personal trainer to help with that, because I am no therapist. I'll also get a wheelchair he can use temporarily." May nodded, as they went quiet. Dr. Summers rubbed the toe of his shoe on the floor, before coughing. "Well, I must be off to fill out the paperwork that's going to be needed. I'll come back later in the morning to see how he is doing."

"Thank you," May said, as he turned and walked down the hall. She watched him leave, before going back into the bedroom, shutting the door behind her. She wanted nothing more then to go to sleep, but that was an option that was not to be done. "Ash, how are you doing? Any better?"

Turning his head to look at her, Ash frowned. "No. This is about as bad as it could get," he said, closing his eyes.

"Don't say that!" May climbed into bed, once again pulling Ash over so they were leaning into each other, and pressed her cheek against the top of his head. "You could have been a lot worse off then you are!"

"Like how? How May?" Ash snapped, glaring at his hands, which were loosely clenched into fists, "I can't do anything! I can barely sit up, not even able to stand or walk, probably can't even…"

"Try _dying_ for one." He went silent, his ranting ended. Ash turned red, angry at himself and at the man that had caused him to be in a coma for so long. "You're going to get better. The doctor said he is going to make sure you have everything you need to build your strength back up."

May pulled the blanket up, when she saw that Ash had nothing more to say. Without complaint, he wiggled down to get comfortable, and instantly drifted off to sleep. The rest of the night went by without a disturbance.

- - -


	2. Chapter Two: Ill Tidings

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Pokemon, its characters, locations, or names. All of them, with the exception of the original characters, belong to Nintendo

Credits: The original fan fiction Shadow League was based off, Pokemon Master, was written by Acey. I retrieved permission before starting this the first time.

A/N: Yeah, I decided to pop in Chapter Two, also, just to get the fan fiction out there again. ;D Anyway, there isn't much to say. since everything was said in Chapter One.

Warnings: The pairing in this is RivalSibling. This fanfiction has a lot of violence and gore, not to mention some language, and implied rape/sex. Not for kids, that's for sure.

- - -

- Chapter 2: Ill Tidings -

"Okay now! No more whining! On the count of three…one, two, three – Pull!" the blonde yelled. Her name was Emily, and she was around the same age as Dr. Summers. She was a sweet woman, and was always a delight to be around – even for Ash, who had slumped into a depression. At that moment, however, it was a matter of trying to get the stubborn man to continue with their sessions.

Shooting her a moody look, Ash gritted his teeth as he summoned up all of the strength he had built back up, and tugged on the rope Emily had handed to him just moments before. The bolt in the wall that it was tied to shifted, the wall groaning in protest. Growling in frustration, Ash pulled harder, ripping the bolt out. It left a good-sized hole in its place. He jumped, yelping in surprise.

Emily went silent, staring at the wall, then at Ash, raising an eyebrow. "And you say you are still useless?" she said, smiling at him.

"What the devil was that? It sounded like you destroyed something in here!" Dr. Summers entered the room, looking curiously at them. Emily and Ash looked at each other, then at the doctor. "…Is my guess that the bolt used to be where that hole is?"

"Yessir," the older woman replied, nodding, "It's amazing. I've never seen anything so…strange." It was Ash's turn to get the curious look. Dr. Summers worried his lip, before shaking his head with an amused grin. Laughing quietly, he walked out, leaving behind the confused patient and his therapist. "Probably went to go get your little girlfriend."

Ash turned red, his eyes shining a dim gold. Emily sighed, throwing her arms up. "What's the problem?" he asked, his voice teasing, playful, and serious at the same time.

"Why can't you be that happy when it comes to your training? Things would be so much easier if you were." Ash's smile faded, and he looked away. Emily mentally kicked herself; she shouldn't of said that to begin with.

"Because I know I'm not getting anywhere fast," was the dark reply. Before Emily could come up with something to say, the door opened again and Dr. Summers returned, this time with May following close on his heels.

"We never said it'd be fast or easy," Dr. Summers commented, standing next to Emily. "After that though, I have no doubt in my mind that you are rapidly improving. Even more then you should be, in fact."

"You weren't kidding when you said there was a hole in the wall," May said, eyeing the destruction that was done, before looking at Ash, her hands on her hips. "Are you being sad again? You know you're the one that did that! So if I hear you complain about this not helping-"

"It's not helping," Ash muttered solemnly, silencing the group, "Something else is." The weight of his words pulled heavily on them. The bolt came out with one pull; very few people, with the exception of weight lifters perhaps, could say that they managed that. Yet after only three weeks of physical therapy, the wheelchair-bound young man had done it…when, in fact, he should have still had trouble just pushing the chair's wheels.

Dr. Summers and Emily looked at each other, coming to a silent agreement. "Perhaps it might be time to try walking again," the older man stated, his voice slow and thoughtful.

"I thought you said not to…" Ash shook his head uneasily. One shock was enough; he didn't want another. Dr. Summers smiled weakly.

"Indeed I did. So did Emily. But with this new improvement, I think it might be time to give it a try." Without giving Ash time to make up an excuse not to, Emily wheeled the chair over to the bars that ran parallel to the longer walls, and put the lock on. "Go on. There is nothing to lose and all to gain here."

May stepped past them to be at Ash's side, one hand on the railing. Ash silently sat in his wheelchair, looking at the bolt on the floor. His eyes were unfocused as he thought it over. Blinking to restore his vision to normal, he grabbed hold of both railings, and pulled himself up. It was obvious how much effort was put in it, as he stood hanging onto the metal bars, shaking.

"I'll kill him." Dr. Summers and Emily's eyes widened at the statement. May nodded, understanding what was behind it, and gently placed her hand over Ash's. He was tired and sore, and had already been pushed past his limits. With a gasp, he gingerly started taking steps – even though it was more like just scooting his feet forward, as he certainly wasn't lifting either of them off the floor! – and glared determinedly at the doctor.

When his legs buckled and he fell to his knees, Ash shuddered. He looked at May in disappointment. "It's a start," she said, smiling.

"A lot better then before," Emily commented, nodding approvingly, "Still not normal for a normal man, however. You're recovery is faster then most. You'll probably be up and about in no more then a week if you keep up what you did today."

"Not really all that surprising." Dr. Summers waited until they all were looking at him, before continuing, "If you think about it, we all know now that he has a Healing ability. Thank your element, Ash, it's helping you out. I think now is a good time to stop."

"Better be," Ash scowled, taking May's help without complaint, "I feel like falling over dead right now."

- - -

"Maaay?…May!" The teenager rolled her eyes. She couldn't believe how much attention that her lover wanted most of the time. It had been around two weeks since it was deemed the time to start working on getting him on his feet again; it should have been wearing him out!

"Would you hold on a minute?" May said, scowling. She had been trying to get dressed, and barely had her skirt on. Ash fidgeted, his Pikachu hovering at his feet patiently, as he waited in the doorway. When she had her shirt on, May turned to look at him. "Now, what do you-"

Pikachu snickered at the expression on her face. Ash gave the young girl a toothy grin, standing on his heels with as much balance as he could manage. He took two short steps forward.

He could stand and walk.

Happily, May ran over and threw her arms around him, smiling into his chest. "You...how?" she asked, quickly looking up at him.

"We don't know," Ash admitted, "I've actually been this way for about four days. Emily suggested not mentioning it though, not until we knew what would happen, just in case it was luck or a good day."

Before she could question him more, Ash grabbed her wrist and pulled her out of the room, with Pikachu following after them. "I can't even stop to get my shoes?"

"No." May smiled, shaking her head. There was impatience dripping from the black-haired man's voice. "I want to go see the others!"

The others referred to Sora and Angel, who was like a family to them both. They didn't even have to go far to find the infant; she had been waiting outside in the main hallway for them. May stepped aside, crossing her arms across her chest, watching the two in front of her. Ash gingerly picked Angel up, as the little girl talked animatedly.

His smile faded after a few minutes though. May leaned forward, looking at him curiously. Ash turned his glance to her, his eyes widening. "Take her!" he said, roughly pushing the baby into her arms.

Angel whimpered, turning into May's shoulder. "What's going on? What's wrong?" she asked, holding onto her tightly.

Ash shook his head, leaning against the wall with his eyes squeezed shut. "Go! NOW! I'll explain later! Just get Angel away from here!"

The baby screamed, when most of the doors along the hall burst wide open, hitting the walls and swinging off their hinges. The lights went out with loud popping sounds. May shushed the little girl quietly.

When several minutes went by, the lights flickered to life. May peeked up from Angel, and she gaped. Any of the doors still on their hinges were scratched up, and the ones that had been pulled off were bent and broken on the floor. The overall damage was horrendous. "No way…"

There was a strangled sob. May turned, bouncing Angel to stop her crying, and frowned at Ash. He was leaning on the wall, his hands covering his face, hiding the tears that were obviously in his eyes. "This is happening too often…I'm damaging _everything_, and nearly hurting people…I have to get away from here."

May's eyes widened as what Ash said sank in. "Wait…no! You can't! You have to be kidding?" she said, her voice rising slightly. Angel peeked at them curiously.

Ash shook his head, his eyes bright. "No. I can't stay here, I'm too dangerous. This is happening twice a day, at the very least…I can't control it, May, and I'm going to end up hurting or killing someone at this rate."

"You just got over excited! Just give it a little more time to get used to holding so much energy?" May asked him, letting Angel down to waddle over to Ash and clutch onto him instead. He shook his head once again.

"Until I get this sorted out, I'm a danger to myself and to everyone around me." He stepped over a door as he talked, scowling at the wreckage. May and Angel followed on his heels.

"Don't leave!" Angel cried, grabbing hold of his pant leg and pulling. Ash stopped to stare down at the toddler as she pulled. She whimpered cutely. "I love you, Daddy!"

"Dear lord…not this again!" Sighing, Ash glared at May, who was giggling. "How many times I've said not to call me that…shut it, May! This isn't funny!"

May's giggled returned again. Dewy-eyed, Angel gripped on him tightened. Ash tugged away from her. "Isn't that adorable?"

Ash glared at May again, biting back the chosen words he wanted to say at that moment. "This is 'adorable'? It is not adorable or cute when you have all to convince all the people around you that it is just said to annoy me, when they all believe it to be true!"

"You poor dear, it must be such a heartache having people believe you a father," was May's sarcastic response, as she attempted to pick the little girl up – which proved a chore, considering she was determined to stay between his feet, where her head barely reached the man's knees.

Stubbornly, Angel wiggled out of her grasp, cuddling again him. Ash, sighing, bent to pry her off. There was a moment of struggle, before a crash and he was on the floor, having tripped over his own feet. "Now I wish I was still in a wheelchair, even if it's frustrating," he said, propping himself up to look at the child who was sitting on his chest with her little arms around his neck, "because then I wouldn't be suffocated by a three-year-old!"

"Stop moaning, you big baby. She doesn't know any better," May said, gently kicking him in the ribs – earning a hissed curse or two from Ash – and took Angel away from him. "She's little."

"Oh, I haven't noticed!" May rose an eyebrow, getting another scowl from Ash, before looking at Angel. "What's that expression for, huh?"

"Hungry."

"Oh, we'll just have to go find mommy then, won't we?" the teenager cooed, getting a giggle from Angel. Ash, having gotten up, kicked uneasily at the floor.

"Well, one of us has to, at any rate," he said. May glanced at him.

"What happened to you leaving, huh? Don't you mean 'me' instead of 'one of us'?" she questioned. Ash frowned at her, getting a knowing grin in return.

"We need to find Sora first." May looked dully at him, clearly deflated. "What?"

"Still leaving then?" He nodded, as they started through the halls in silence. There was noting more to be said. Ash knocked gently on the door at Sora's quarters, stepping back as the door open.

The green-haired woman blanched, and snatched Angel up. "Young lady! You shouldn't have ran off like that!" she scolded, tapping the baby on the wrist.

Angel cowered down. Shaking her head, Sora looked at the pair, who had stayed silent through the whole ordeal. She let them in, sensing that something was off, and shut the door behind them. "Now, what happened? The power went out, and you both look like you saw Death…" and with a glance at Ash: "and by the look on your face, she called you daddy again."

Ash winced. "Another accident. And yes. I don't feel like being even _considered_ a parent yet. I'm only 22, and it's really unnerving."

"Don't start using the age excuse on me! I'm younger then you!" Sora said, "Though, it is understand, since you are on shaky grounds right now. You know I am trying to get her to stop." Angel looked sadly at him.

"I don't want you leave!" she whined. Sora smoothed her hair down soothingly. However, she did look confused.

"What are you raving about?" Sora asked, frowning. Ash raised his hand slightly, his lips pursed tightly.

"She's talking about me, Sora. I'm going to be leaving shortly, due to certain circumstances…" he replied, looking down so he wouldn't meet her eyes.

"But...why? Why leave for it?"

"You both know what is going on and has been going on, and it is getting too out of control. It needs careful handling to fix, and I need to get out on my own to do so." May rolled her eyes, before glancing at him.

"And how do you plan to go about that?" she asked. Ash shrugged, running a hand through his hair in exasperation.

"How in hell should I know? I'll figure it out as I go through it." Angel started crying again, struggling against Sora.

"Don't leave!" Ash took Angel himself, giving her a 'calm down' look. The baby looked at him with teary eyes.

"If you stop crying, I'll get you a present." The crying stopped immediately, and she blinked. "Good, that's better. What would you want now?"

"Daddy!" Angel cooed, her small voice cautious. Sora once again swatted her on the wrist, earning a wince from both child and man.

"Angel, you know not to call him that!" Sora scolded. Angel looked earnestly at her, then at Ash, snuggling up against him, before crying again. Forcing a smile, Ash blew into her ear softly, getting a giggle. She rubbed the side of her face and head at the tickling sensation.

"I'd swear he is her father. He acts like it," May said, watching them. Sora smiled and nodded her agreement. It was always a sight, the two of them.

"Her real father died a few weeks after she was born. In an accident, and she doesn't remember him at all," Sora said, her voice becoming quiet, "Angel is so attached to him…he's the only father figure she's actually known."

"It's so sad…" the younger girl mused, "Not only does she lose her birth father, but then she is about to lose the one she dubbed as 'daddy,' and all because of a few exploding lamps and busted up doors." Sora gave a sad smile.

"Angel, isn't it time for lunch for you?" Ash handed Angel over, before grabbing May's wrist. "Oh, you two have so much to do. Get on with it."

Gratefully, Ash gave her a kiss on the cheek and a hug, before leading the way out.

- - -

"I'll make sure to call if I get to a phone," Ash said, holding May in an embrace. He wasn't given enough time to say much else, when she got on her tiptoes to plant a soft kiss on his lips, and deepening it. "...just a guess, strawberry again?"

"What else?" May pulled out the gloss from her pocket, waving it in mock cheerfulness to hide the fact she actually wanted to cry. She knew Ash felt bad enough without the weight of what it was causing to her being put on his shoulders.

He gave her a slow smile, one that seemed more sorrowed then warm. His resolve was starting to diminish… _No._ "Don't let things get you too down, it shouldn't take all that long."

With a final kiss, Ash activated the teleportation device, disappearing.

If only he knew what was to come…

- - -

A/N: Ok! Differences! One that is more noticeable is what I did with Emily. In the original she wasn't all that described, was actually a really, really flat character, and seemed to just take up space. So I decided to give her some personality in this rewrite. :)

I also figured out what I was doing with Angel. She didn't really have a set age in the original, sadly, so that whole issue was screwed up...for that matter, the time line was totally screwed the first time. She was only really one, then her age would jump, and..ugh. No. So I decided to go with her being three here, since it made the time leaps easier.


	3. Chapter Three: Years Gone By

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Pokemon, its characters, locations, or names. All of them, with the exception of the original characters, belong to Nintendo

Credits: The original fan fiction Shadow League was based off, Pokemon Master, was written by Acey. I retrieved permission before starting this the first time.

A/N: UUUGH, I near had a heart attack when I thought I was possibly losing all of these chapters to a hacked in virus. DX But all is...mostly...well now, so here we are, back in full swing and uploading. 8D

Warnings: The pairing in this is RivalSibling. This fanfiction has a lot of violence and gore, not to mention some language, and implied rape/sex. Not for kids, that's for sure.

- Chapter 3: Years Gone By -

Kiall turned his chair, swiveling around to face the desk that sat in his roomy office, and switched on the monitor with a callused hand. He noted that one of his assistants had done as he had asked earlier, searching through the multitudes of files on the electronic device – he learned it had been called a computer, and it amused him greatly that they had created such a thing – and pulled up a few. The first one was the one he had truly wanted to see.

Pushing a button to make the rest of them go hidden for the time being, he looked over the words on his screen, noting with disapproval the lack of any useful information on his Elemental brother and enemy:

**Name: Ashura Ketchum **

**Age: 28 **

**Sex: Male**

**Height: 6" to 6" 2'. Official height unknown.**

**Weight: Unknown **

**Marital Status: Unknown **

**Occupation: Unknown**

**Location: Unknown**

**Birth Date: March 31, 1976**

**Birth Location: Pallet Town**

With a slight frown, he clicked it off, and went to the next ones. They were of different Masters, all of them questionable to him about their alliances or merely ones that had already turned against his League. The League itself was in no danger; not by a long shot, it was powerful with hundreds of trainers and Masters in its folds, and with the hordes of demons in the world… It still didn't mean they were to be allowed to run free.

Pushing himself out of his chair, Kiall stepped over to the window to look down at the ground that was several floors down. There were shouts and squeals, as several Trainers and Masters were working with their pokemon teams, using their powers on targets and on each other. With a shake of his head, he let out a long, soft sigh. "Brock, Mistaria, Erika, Koga, Giovanni, Lorelei, Lance…they all are in need of tracking. Some of them say they are loyal to me, but there are rumors abound about them…while others have already proven their alliances are elsewhere. AGATHA!"

There was silence, before the door creaked open, and a withered old woman walked in, her stride as unhindered as some who's years were smaller then her's. A Ghastly followed her, its eyes darting around the room. "Yes, Master Kiall?" she asked, her voice low.

"I have some people I would like you to find for me, and to bring in. They have or possibly will rebel against the League, and we mustn't allow it. You are to go to Sabrina, she knows who I speak of." Agatha bowed down, secretly wincing at the slight pain it caused, and started to back out.

"Right away, sir."

- - -

Cloak whipping around, she fled through the dense trees of the forest. The blaze behind her was the only indication that Cerulean City was being left behind, its buildings going up in flames and its people fleeing for their lives. Water pokemon were being brought out, either to fend off their assailants or to douse the fires raging. The only other three lives ran with her, all of them panting and their hair falling out of what had once been nice hair-do's, dismaying them greatly.

"We need to get to the hide out, before any of them catch up! We can't let them find the Rebellion!" the youngest of the four yelled, using her staff to push through the thickets of bushes. Her companions nodded in silent agreement, knowing that speaking more then necessary was asking for detection.

With ease, they found the hatch into the underground bade, camouflaged as a tree stump near the edge of a clearing. They let themselves in, climbing down the ladder to the metal hallway below, and ran off to one of the meeting rooms. "How did they find us out? Like, we were being discreet about being there!" the blonde asked, pulling one of the chairs back and sitting down.

The redhead, the youngest, shrugged, also seating herself tiredly. There was a gash in her thigh, blood seeping down it to the muddy boot she wore. "I don't know, but they are probably heading an attack on all of the towns for rogues. Which means…"

"…that everyone is in danger." the pink-haired one finished grimly, before her eyes widened, "Misty! You're hurt! We need to get the medic for you-"

"I'll be fine," Misty said, using the First-Aid kit to tend to the wound herself, "but those innocent people most likely aren't…"

- - -

"You are to surrender to us, knave!" Bruno growled, his eyes narrowed into a glare at the brown-haired ex-Gym Leader standing in front of him. Brock Slate glared back at him, his expression defiant, as his faithful Onix sat behind him, coiled into itself and staring menacingly at the League's army. "Or prepare for your death!"

"I would rather die then to work for you filth," the Rock Master snarled back, his arms crossed and chin up, "I am Brock Slate, and I will not do work for the side of evil!" Bruno brought up his weapon - an axe – and let out a brutal, animalistic snarl.

"Then die!" He advanced on him, ignoring the howls and shouts of the surrounded civilians and Masters. Bruno and Brock were used to the scene playing out around them.

It was quite horrific to the innocent people, however. Many were tracked down by the Masters and trainers and killed when they were caught, either by a pokemon or by the hand of their murderer. The men were instantly cut down, the children were either stolen from their parents or tortured, and the women were painfully raped and attacked – and some were even carted off for later. It was indeed one of the saddest nights in all the history of the world of Pokemon.

A fierce hate shining in his eyes, Bruno lunged at Brock, his axe chopping as he did a spinning kick. Brock let out a battle cry as he blocked the attacks, his skin turning to a hard stone, and countering. Onix hung back, prepared for any order that his Master would give…

"Ha, that will never do a thing to me!" Bruno sneered, snapping his fingers. A trainer came forward, giving them an evil looking smile, her smile a pearly white. She wore a cloak of blue, and her hair was done up in a plain ponytail, though it had started falling out from the action of the night. Brock felt his heart race; that was no trainer, it was a Master. A Water Master.

She rose her hands, waving them through the air, and a ball of water formed before her, hanging and glistening in the light of the fires and the moon. With a smirk, she let it fly, aiming at Brock. Her aim was true, and it collided with his rocky torso. With a roar, he reeled around, the Water eating at his skin.

It was too late from him to change back to his normal form. Brock fell to his knees, as he felt the cracks forming all along his body, tearing him apart and causing a searing pain. Bruno and the Water Master stood over him, watching him as he fell over, and he took his last breath. Brock said one last wavering thing: "You…will…not…succeed…"

With another smirk, Bruno clapped the Master on the back for a job well done, and walked away.

As the night wore on, Pewter City was turned to nothing more then a smoldering pile of rubble. The League left, returning to their private city, their objective for being in the cursed city complete.

- - -

A/N: The first of the small differences has to do with the format of the information given on Ash via the computer Kiall works on. In the original, it was pointed out by having #'s around each line, while this time around I have it bolded for a smoother, less cluttered page. I also added some more detail about it – such as about Kiall's lack of computer skills and knowledge, and added some more movements/actions into it.

One big difference though, is a scene I took out. In the original there was a full scene back at the mansion with May, Angel, and Sora that fell between the scene with Misty and the scene with Brock. But when I created a timeline to see where everything came to in time, all it managed to do was create an issue as it went from present, back to the past, then into the present again, so I just took it out. It's easier to refer to it later on anyway.


	4. Chapter Four: Friend or Foe?

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Pokemon, its characters, locations, or names. All of them, with the exception of the original characters, belong to Nintendo

Credits: The original fan fiction Shadow League was based off, Pokemon Master, was written by Acey. I retrieved permission before starting this the first time.

A/N: Ehh...nothing really to say right now. I'm just trying to get this fanfic up as fast as I can. / Though I still need to make more chapter images, since I only have up until Chapter 13 or something done, though I'm not worrying about it for now.

Things are going to start picking up a bit more I hope. This chapter was really just to get some back story out of the way, not to mention to reintroduce some characters to each other and such. 

Warnings: The pairing in this is RivalSibling. This fanfiction has a lot of violence and gore, not to mention some language, and implied rape/sex. Not for kids, that's for sure.

- Chapter 4: Friend or Foe? -

The silence of the woods was broken, as leaves crunched softly underfoot, as the shadow walked casually along the trees. He could be as silent or as loud as he wanted; at that moment, he felt no danger were he was, so he laxed his worries about being heard. The normally crisp, cold night air felt heavy to him, though, so he sniffed, taking measure of the area. He could smell the faint odor of death nearby, and it didn't please him in the slightest.

"There is another raid." The words were only the slightest of whispers, and said with a frown. "We need to hurry up."

"Pikachu…" the small pokemon at his side said, ears drooping. The pikachu was not just any pikachu. Oh, that one was strange! The usual yellow-colored fur was a shade of black, and the normally dark eyes were bright cobalt and glowing. Even the attacks of the strange pokemon was not the same. They were not just Electric…they were Shadow.

Just as his Master's attacks were.

- - -

Hard times had fallen on the world. The towns and cities were left in a state of ruin, after the war Team Rocket had been in with against the League. When it was over, the people were laughed at, as they struggled to survive and to fix the mess that had been created by the corporation's leader, Giovanni. Kiall did not help matters, as he let his Masters and trainers raid the towns for supplies and to beat any that uttered a word against them.

The raids had happened long before the war had began, but had worsened after it. Most people's defenses had been whittled away to nothing, and very few 'towns' or 'cities' were left. One of the first to be destroyed was Pallet Town, along with Vermilion City, Fuchsia City, and even Cinnabar Island took a blow. The others were no more then shadows of their former sizes.

The only reason there were still some left to survive was that the survivors of others moved to the remaining ones, to the hope for safety of numbers. And there was also the feared and awed Shadow Master, the one of the wilderness of Kanto. He was their savior, but also their murderer, having the name of 'Shadow Assassin' for his time in the League and for the things he did in its name…

He was the threat that more trainers and Masters died from then any other.

- - -

As he crawled on his stomach on the ground, he found a spot in the bushes to peer through, his gold eyes squinted to try to see through the fog and smoke that filled the air. Viridian City was laid out before him, and people darted about in panic. Many Fire trainers had their pokemon out with orders to kill any that tried to run away or to lash out. They were taking supplies from the houses, along with other things. Pikachu whimpered slightly.

"It's time to go in and stop them again," he said, his voice angry, as he stood up. He leaped over the brambles, the smaller shadow following him, and started down the hill, his steps light and fast. His cloak billowed out behind him, catching the air, giving him the impression of actually flying to anyone far away. None of the ones in battle seemed to notice his presence, until he stepped up to a young trainer, and lifted one booted foot to slam it into the boy's chin, and started a series of strikes that the baffled trainer failed to stop.

Detected, the other trainers and Masters came together in a circle, enclosing the Shadow Master and his pokemon. Their faces were etched in hatred, eyes glaring and glittering in a morbid delight. "Charmeleon, destroy this fool that dares oppose us!" a girl yelled out, throwing a poke ball into the ring.

With a grim smile, his eyes glowing in the shadows of his hood, he snapped his fingers. "Pikachu, Shadow Blade."

Jumping off his shoulder, the shadow pokemon flew up into the heated air. Shifting into the black and blue, razor-sharp sword with the blade of Shadow-energy, it fell back down, as its wielder took up the hilt with a flourish. There was bitter laughter from the masses. "That is all you have? A sword? That is your only defense against us all?"

"It is the only defense I need against scum like you." Silently, he leapt out, his cloak whirling around, and brought the wicked looking blade down on the lizard pokemon. The dying pokemon screamed in agony, falling to the ground as it split in two. Blood oozed out, spreading across the ground slowly but steadily.

There were whimpers from the trainers, as they eyed him cautiously. With a smirk, the dark figure lashed out, the blade glowing a dark blue as it tore through the trainers' and Masters' flesh. As the bodies toppled to the floor, blood splattered around them. In a flash the sword became the pokemon once again.

There was a moment of silence, as survivors peered around corners and doorways, their eyes wide and frightened. When it was obvious that only the lone warrior was left standing – and even that didn't comfort them, after the display they just saw! – they edged over to him. One of the smaller children, a girl, pulled on his cloak. "Are you a demon?" she asked.

Crouching down in front of the innocent girl, he pulled back his hood to reveal the face of a man many years younger then what the people expected. His eyes were serious, but unthreatening, as he took in the view of the child as she bluntly stared. "I do believe that would depend on your definition of a demon," he answered, giving her the biggest smile he could manage.

She seemed to think about it for a minute, before smiling too and nodding. "That means you can't be, because demons are supposed to be big and scary and ugly and mean! You aren't mean or ugly!" she chirped, bobbing on her heels, "What's your name?"

He noted the disapproving looks of several of the elder members of the city, understanding the wariness and suspicion that arose when a stranger was in their mists… "My name is Ashura," he said, placing just enough emphasis on his name to bring it to their attention, "How about your's, hm?"

"Um…" A woman ran forward, pushing out of the throng of people to take the girl up in her arms, glaring at Ash as she backed off. "Mommy! I was-"

"I have told you time and time again not to talk to strangers!" she yelled, spanking the child. The girl took the blow, flinching, and looked at her new 'friend' sadly. Ash pulled his cloak tighter around him, closing his eyes to wait until the mother yelled at _him_ for talking to her beloved daughter. The yell never came; he opened his eyes again and looked around, and saw both of them just staring once again, and noticed they all did the same thing.

"I understand your need for keeping away from someone you do not know," Ash said, his voice gentle as he started to turn away, "and it is smart of you to do so. We are in quite a dangerous era…" As he started toward the city end, he heard the whispers from the people quite clearly. Most of them consisted of pieces of stories he'd heard too many times to count…

- - -

Her breath labored, May narrowed her eyes, staring at the demon that was curled before her. A Shadow Arbok. It was one of the multitudes of the Forbidden Pokemon that was let loose on the world when Kiall was released from his prison. Whatever had been holding them had been broken up, and many of each type had been let out at the time. The numbers had more then doubled of the freaks over time.

In silence, May let her Dewgong out, letting the ice-type take on the Arbok. With one well-aimed Ice Beam, it was destroyed and out of her way. May leaned against a tree, staring up at the leaves, and sighed heavily. Ever since the attack on the manor years back, most of the people she had been traveling with afterwards had been killed, except for Sora and her little girl, Angel. If they weren't killed, they had either been kidnapped or joined the League. The whole thing disgusted the woman, leaving her with more bitterness then she originally had.

"Are you two alright? None of them hurt you?" May asked, looking over at the huddled mother and child. Sora nodded, holding onto the nine-year-old tightly. May picked her way over to them, and sat down, weary from the constant battles against the Forbidden. She felt the cold of her heart, of the very being that she was, profoundly at that moment, as she sat watching Sora set up a fire for the camp.

And it was caused by a lot more then just her Element…

- - -

His eyes closed, Ash leaned against one of the many Elm trees, comfortable in the gloom of twilight, and slid down its rough surface to sit at its base on the ground. With a small sigh, he pulled back his hood, taking pleasure in the glow of the remaining light and of the feel of the cool air on his skin. It was a rare time indeed when he could sit down and relax. He pulled his cloak back, to note the blood and mud splatter on his black boots, then looked to his black slacks and tied vest, and blue long sleeved shirt. Not seeing any damage, he settled back into place.

Pikachu snuggled against him, nodding off to sleep, as he petted the mouse pokemon. Noticing the lone streak of blue in the sky, Ash tilted his head, thoughtfully staring at it. "Maybe we should go find Misty. She could prove helpful…unless she was caught and…"

He didn't dare finish the sentence.

"Chu, pikachu." With a yawn and a stretch, Pikachu got back up, blinking at the Shadow Master curiously. Ash opened his pack, letting his pokemon jump in to continue the nap, and started his hike through the forest anew, destination in mind.

Within a few hours Pewter City's ruins came into his range of vision. With a frown, Ash peered around, keeping back in the darkness of the trees in case there were still enemies left nearby. Bodies littered the ground, and the air smelt of blood and flesh, of death. He didn't wince, nor make a sound for it; he was used to the all too familiar scent. One of the corpses did catch his eye, however, and he stepped across the short distance between him and it with light footsteps.

Ash bent down, biting his lip as he moved it so that it lay on its back. Letting out a silent cry, he backed off, staring in horror at it. The corpse was Brock, the Gym Leader that had been one of his best friends at one time. Growling, he glared toward the remains of one of the League's trainers. "I will make sure whoever did this dies painfully," he snarled, his hands balled into fists.

Pikachu let out a whimper, eyes darting around. There was a rustling sound near them, catching the Master's attention, alerting him to another presence. He could feel it. Ash crouched down, getting behind a low, broken wall to wait for another move.

His patience rewarded, an Aerodactyl rose from one of the piles of rock, its large wings flapping as its fierce, red eyes glared at Ash. He stood, immediately tensed and ready for another battle. "Aha, so it is you, Master Ashura." the pokemon rasped, getting a growl from Pikachu, "Assassin Ashura. You have come at last."

"Aerodactia. I see you are still doing well," he said, his voice calm, as he glared coldly at her. Aerodactia flapped her wings once more, blowing the dust and dirt around her into a small whirlwind. Ash held his ground, arms folded, and waiting.

"Assassin Ashura, you are a traitor to the League, a rogue!" she said, as Ash tilted his head to the side curiously, some locks of longish black hair flying across his face. With a scowl, he blew it back into place.

"Am I to feel bad for that now?" Ash asked, unsmiling, his eyes narrowed, "for doing what I thought is right? That I still think is right?"

"You are wrong!" the pokemon screeched, and he smiled humorlessly. Aerodactia did another flap. "I must now kill you for turning your back on the League, rogue Assassin."

Shaking his head, he planted his feet in the right places, his arms to his sides. "You think you can? Bring it on, give me your best shot!" he hissed

With a scream of rage, Aerodactia charged at him, wings flapping and jaw open. Ash dodged to the side, rolling into a crouch, just verily missing the Fly attack. With a nonverbal order, Pikachu returned to his side. He knew he was in for a fight; Aerodactia was the Master Pokemon of Rock, and was not to be taken lightly.

"Hey!" she screeched, hovering only a few feet above the ground. She could feel the attack being done at that very moment, but her trained eyes could not see it; it made her uneasy. Ash launched forward, his spinning kick sending the pokemon to the ground. Without hesitating, he did an open palm strike to her neck, killing her instantly. Her neck was broken.

Letting out a long sigh, he let Pikachu jump onto his shoulder. "They certainly are not going to be happy when they find out Aerodactia is dead," Ash muttered, giving the new corpse a dirty look

"Oh ho ho, I see our most infamous Traitor has managed to defeat a Master Pokemon," a female's voice echoed from nearby. Ash spun on his heel, meeting the deep purple eyes of the Master of Psychic, Sabrina. He had trouble hiding his surprise, but let her see the scowl he got from her arrival.

"What in hell do you want?" he growled. Sabrina paused, smoothing out the wrinkles in her cloak, her face a mask of calm coldness. When she finished, she looked at him.

"They are looking for you." She had no reason to specify; they both knew whom she spoke of. "And they will get to you. They want revenge."

"It seems you've lost your touch, Sabrina," Ash replied, "That is nothing new, nor is it not obvious. They've sent pokemon and Trainers out to get my hide."

She shook her head, diverting her eyes. "Your wit will one day get you into trouble you cannot claw out of."

With a quiet pop, she disappeared. Irritably, Ash punched the wall next to him, reducing it to dust. With another sigh, he blew his black hair away from his face with a soft breath of air, and leaped over another pile of rocks. "Now for Misty."

- - -

Misty ran along the forest edge, her ocean-blue cloak flapping behind her. She panted, having been running for nearly an hour, and it was wearing down on her. She continued on, her red hair floating about and her blue eyes darting around, looking for any sign of the black-cloaked man with the Shadow Pikachu. She had to find him, because if she didn't…

Forbidden – or Shadow – Pokemon were running wild. Misty had to find him, and keep the other Focal Gates from becoming active and opening, releasing more of the monstrosities. She didn't want to see what Hell looked like, which was were they came from…or so she believed.

Stopping, she looked around, frowning into the darkness that had started to overtake the land. Night was starting to take over from evening. _Lovely_, Misty thought, snarling, _I'll never be able to find him now. This is his territory, not mine._

She continued walking, in hopes of finding somewhere she could stop without the threat of the Forbidden.

- - -

Ash blinked his eyes, letting his night vision go into effect, the last remaining light dissipating into the night. He looked around as he walked, keeping a wary eye out for any lurking Shadow Pokemon that might be thinking to ambush him. Sensing another presence, he went into action, weaving around the trees silently to see who was nearby.

The first thing he noticed was the red hair and blue eyes. The name dawning on him, Ash edged over into the open. Misty turned her glance to him, raising one fine eyebrow. She had not expected him to walk up in the night. "Ash."

"Misty." They stared at each other for a long while, both curious and wary at the same time. Misty broke the quiet first, firing off her question.

"You know what's been going on, don't you?" she asked coolly. Ash nodded, crossing his arms. Pikachu peeked at the woman from at his feet.

"Of course I do. Shadow Pokemon everywhere, the League's constant raids. In fact, I've been fighting them off when they got in my way up until just recently. Now I'm actually going out of my way to find them, though I am not sure as to why. What is new about it?" Misty shook her head. She couldn't believe he didn't know…

"I'd have thought that you, of all people, would know about the Gates, and that they are going to be opened soon. I was actually sent out to find you out because of it." Ash closed his eyes, holding his breath as it sank in.

"Of all the things, I was hoping that was no what you were going to say," he admitted dully, "What do you need me for, anyway?"

"The Rebellion wants you to join with us, to help us stop the League and to keep the Gates from opening. More innocent people will die if they do," Misty said, taking a step back as Ash opened his eyes, staring at her angrily.

"The damned Rebellion!" he roared, his eyes glowing a bright gold, "You know as well as the rest of those blasted fools that I will not join you! I didn't then, and I won't now."

Pursing pink-tinged lips, Misty waited until Ash had gone silent, fuming. "You only say so because you are considered a traitor by most on both sides," she muttered, getting a sour look, "which includes me."

"You. So, you consider me a traitor. To who? The League? The Rebellion, who I never sided with anyway? To myself? Who in the name of the nine levels of this world's hell did I turn traitor on?" he asked, grinding his teeth as his eyes glowed brighter, "And you used to be my ally! What happened?"

"It is your own fault!" she snapped back, "When you lost your title, you disappeared! And when we all meet you again, we are in the League. But oh dear, what do we find? A broken man that will do anything the League tells him to do, no matter how ruthless or cold hearted it is!"

Ash snorted, his eyes narrowed. "Really now, you think so? I'd only been through my own living nightmare! What would you have expected?"

The Water Master's eyes softened, as a light rain started to fall. They started toward the shelter of the trees again. "It was such a saddening time, to be honest. We all were so lost and confused, and you…you were nearly like a robot in the way you would take orders without complaint or thought. And then when the others left, you just watched them so coldly, then tried to actually go after them…"

Sitting under one of the trees, Ash shook his head, banishing the memories that were trying to resurface. "Really now, why do you need me though? Can't one of the other Masters help you out? How about Erika? Or Melody?" he asked, "I'd prefer it if I could stay out of it. The only reason I started interfering again is because of the disruption somewhere. I don't know where it is, though, so…"

"No, Ash, we need your help, and yours only. They cannot shut the first one, and they cannot stop the others from doing the same. Only you can!"

"Who says? Koga? Because if this is just a load of bull…" Misty scowled. He was being difficult again!

"You know the prophecy says that the time Shadow overbalances Light, that the Master of Shadow and Mistress of Light would come together to save the world from being destroyed by the Forbidden Pokemon," she said, noticing the look Ash suddenly got at the mention of the 'Mistress of Light.'

"Fine! You win, I'm in." Ash said, standing up once again and brushing off. "Where do I need to go?"

Misty smiled evilly. "Oh, we'll just have to find out, won't we?"

Ash stared at her, and growled. "I'll kill you after this is over, I swear it."

"I am sure you will go about it in the most painful fashion possible. Now let's get going."

- - -

A/N: There isn't really much different in this one, besides adding more detail, making the battles a little longer, changing some things around in the discussion between Ash and Misty, and stuff such as that.


	5. Chapter Five: The Reunion of S, I, and A

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Pokemon, its characters, locations, or names. All of them, with the exception of the original characters, belong to Nintendo

Credits: The original fan fiction Shadow League was based off, Pokemon Master, was written by Acey. I retrieved permission before starting this the first time. Kiall and Elizabeth belong to me.

A/N: Ah...yes. I really hate inking right now. I tried inking a drawing for art class, and the ink bled. So I had to redraw it. And I get to try to reink it again. Graah. And I just finished an essay for US History 1 class, so...mucho fun. I'm still waiting for something to explode or something to top everything off. DX

Anyway, fanfiction. I actually really like this chapter. It was in bad shape before, but I think I actually did it justice this time. XD Especially with how Ash acts this time around.

Warnings: The pairing in this is RivalSibling. This fanfiction has a lot of violence and gore, not to mention some language, and implied rape/sex. Not for kids, that's for sure.

- Chapter 5: The Reunion of Shadow, Ice, and Light -

"Sabrina, Agatha. Any news for me?" Kiall asked, looking at the two women – one old, and the other young – that stood before him. They looked at each other, and nodded in unison.

"Master Ashura is back to his old games. He's once again interfering, just as he did right after he rebelled from us." Kiall rolled his red eyes, throwing his arms up.

"Dimwits! I knew that already!" Neither winced at the outburst, taking it in stride.

"He has also grown stronger. Ashura managed to defeat Aerodactia, in fact," Agatha added, giving the powerful man a few worried glances, "He is a lot stronger then before."

"That wretched man. He needs to be dead, and out of my hair. Do anything you must do so I can get my hands around his cursed neck!" he growled. He sat back in his seat, his eyes shut to hide the worry in them. It would be a grave situation if it was allowed to continue.

With nods, they disappeared from the room. Kiall peeked an eye open when he sensed another Master in the room with him, and saw it was a tall man with spiked brown hair and cold eyes. The man walked toward him. "You are giving the mission to those two neurotic women? Why not just give it to Mistress Elizabeth?" he asked.

Kiall watched him, his eyes calculating. "It would be my course of action, if she did not want to take care of Master Ashura herself, in ways I rather not have on my mind." The man smirked, knowing exactly what he meant. "We also don't know if she is true to the League or not. I trust you are keeping a sharp eye on them of course, Gary?"

With a nod, Gary replied, "Of course."

- - -

His head propped up on his arms, Ash stared into the dead fire, at the charred logs that were falling apart. Everything was covered in a layer of morning dew, and he licked his lips as he pulled out the bottle that held water to get a drink out of it. Across the camp was Misty, who was still fast asleep, her strawberry coloured hair only slightly mussed up.

Ash curled into a ball, making himself small and unnoticeable, as he concentrated. He could feel that someone was in the woods near the clearing they were in, but he couldn't tell whether it was friendly or not. He prodded Pikachu to awake him. Perking up, the pokemon looked at him curiously. "Do you hear or feel anything?" he whispered.

Blue eyes wide and searching, Pikachu nodded. "Like someone is around here. Let's go check it out, to see if they are a threat." Ash quietly stood, letting his cloak materialize over his athletic, lean body. Nodding in approval of it, he started walking into the woods, his boots making not a sound.

It took several minutes before the trees started thinning out again, and Ash neared another clearing. There was bright sunlight in that one, unlike the rest of the world at that moment, which was still dim at sunrise. Ash glanced around, searching for what was causing his unease.

His eyes adjusting to the light levels, Ash spotted a lone figure sitting on a small tree stump at the river's edge, their bare, delicate feet dangling in the crystalline water. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. She had flowing, dark red hair that was nearly black, and it went down her back. She hummed a soft tune, her legs swinging and causing more ripples in the water.

Ash gritted his teeth, when chains crept up on him, securing themselves around his ankles and his wrists. He hated being trapped, and wondered how he hadn't known it was one… With a smile, she turned around to look at him with bright green eyes. He stared down at her, his mouth a thin line. "It's been a long time, Ashura," she said, getting up off the stump with ease.

A thin, white cloak covered her fragile-looking body. She looked at him from under the hood, her eyes unblinking and glittering. Ash scowled at her, already recognizing her. The Light Mistress was not easy to miss. "Elizabeth, what are you doing out here?"

Looking at him, Elizabeth walked gracefully across the flat of ground that was between them. She gently pushed back his black hood, looking into the gold eyes that haunted her every day. She ignored the fact that he looked perturbed at the situation. "We miss you, you know. It has been so lonesome without you and Pikachu around, and ever so depressing not to have someone to be with every night," she said, pressing her lips to the pulse at his neck. Ash jerked to free himself of the troublesome woman, his teeth clenched together.

"You are not missed by me," he said, glaring at her. Elizabeth's smile widened, the Shadow Master's discomfort showing clearly to her. With a small sigh, she ran a hand down his torso, feeling the shiver that he had, and stopped at the belt that held his vest together.

A glint came to her eye. "It would seem you miss me more then you say," she commented dryly, "as you are getting tenser by the moment, and are most likely getting a little warm, hm?"

"Shut up. Stop it!" he hissed, his eyes getting a reddish tint to them. Blinking, it disappeared, and they returned to the normal gold. Feeling a small unease, Elizabeth took on an even wider smile. It was the perfect opportunity.

"Maybe I should-"

"…leave him alone, I hope is what you are going to say." Elizabeth turned around to look at the trio that was on the other side of the stream. With the attention taken off of him, Ash closed his eyes, pained, and took a deep, shuddering breath. A dark mist appeared around him, and the chains vanished, releasing him from their grip. The mist sank back down.

He glanced in the direction of the voice, and his eyes widened. The smallest of the three also went wide-eyed, and bolted across the rocks to get over the stream and at him. She hugged him, only being about the height of his waist. Ash was suddenly very happy he wore both a cloak and such loose pants.

"Angel?" he asked, watching as she looked up and grinned. Angel nodded, her dark green curls bobbing. Ash felt his heart sink. "But that would mean…"

"Marian!" Elizabeth growled, the pure white aura of the Light element enveloping her body. It flared angrily. May frowned, stepping across the stream on the same stones Angel had just a moment earlier, her boots tapping on the gray rock.

"It's so nice to see you too, Elizabeth," she shot sarcastically. Ash looked between the two women, biting his lip to keep his jaw from dropping. It was just his luck that both of them would find him, and that they would become sour when they saw each other. Elizabeth eyed him, looking for a hint at what he was going to do – which, in all reality, was nothing – as her aura flared again, and more chains appeared.

Prepared for it, Ash forced them back with his own Shadow aura. May watched them, tapping her foot, before glowing a light blue, her icy blue cloak forming over her outfit. The temperature felt like it actually started to lower when she put a hand up, throwing a blue pokeball to the ground. It let out a shimmering cobalt light, and a blue-black pokemon appeared. The pokemon had long, sharp claws for hands and feet. "Sneasel!" it howled, clawing at the thin air.

"Use Blizzard." Sneasel yelled out, jumping around, and the area around her became filled with snow and hail. The weather attack blinded the group, covering the clearing in the white substance. Ash pulled his cloak around, holding Angel under it to keep her from chilling, shielding her from the frigid winds.

As the attack died, the air cleared and they were left standing in a layer of snow. Elizabeth exploded out of a pile of the mess, scowling. "Do you honestly think that weak attack of yours can stop me?" she asked, her hands on her hips, "You must be a dolt if you do." She turned to look at Ash. "Well, Ashura, are you going to just stand there and gape at us like a goldfish, or are you going to do something about this? She did just attack me, even if it was useless."

With a shrug, Ash made his expression neutral, refusing to give an answer that would anger either of them any more then they were. He didn't want their attacks turned on him when he had a child clinging to him. Elizabeth continued to look at him expectantly, frowning, before turning back to May with a sneer. "This is not the last you'll have seen of me, May." she said, before blowing a kiss to the glaring Shadow Master, "And I will be seeing _you_ again very soon, Ashura dear. Until we meet again…"

In a bright flash of light, Elizabeth disappeared from their company. Ash looked over at May, nonchalantly, as she returned her Sneasel. His eyes betrayed him; he looked too curious. "So you're an Ice Master?" he asked, getting a glare from her, before she nodded curtly.

"Oh so observant of you. What tipped that off, the cloak or the pokemon?" she asked sarcastically. Tilting his head forward at a slight angle, Ash looked at her through the hair that fell over and covered his face.

"You've changed quite a bit, but why are you out here in this mess? Why didn't you stay at…" He paused, remembering the trap he had set up at the manor to keep Kiall – and the League, which he hadn't known was around yet - from getting their hands on it. "They attacked it? Didn't they?"

"Yes. Why didn't you tell me about it?" May looked around to Sora, who was crossing over, and at Angel, who was watching them talk with a quiet patience. "Everyone else certainly knew about it!"

He shrugged. "It was a last minute set-up. They were actually the ones that set it up, I just told them what to do." There was silence again, except for the sound of moving water. "Wait, your real name is Marian?"

May frowned at him. "Yes, like Ashura is yours, idiot."

"Don't start getting snippy, I was just asking a question."

"An extremely asinine one." It was Ash's turn to scowl, as he felt a small bubble of anger well up inside of him. He pushed it back down, knowing getting into a fight – verbal or physical – would do none of them any good.

"Hey there!" Sora planted herself between the two Masters, worriedly glancing at one and then the other, as they glared daggers at each other. "Why are you doing this? I would have thought you'd be happy-"

"Damn, she hates me, that's why!" Ash growled, Pikachu startling from the tone of his voice. Sora blinked. "It's a good thing, too."

"I highly doubt that!" she said. She went quiet to give May a chance to say her part. The Ice Master crossed her arms, glaring at Ash heatedly.

"He's actually right." Sora jumped, ogling at them in shock. "What?"

"What, why though? You two adored each other before-" May shook her head. "No?"

"The keyword there is 'before.' Now, I'm 22, and know better then to love this bastard," she said, her eyes glinting. Ash rolled his eyes, ignoring the hurt that had managed to push itself into his feelings.

"Yes, May, you certainly have a way of judging peoples personalities after only seeing someone for ten minutes after 6 years or so of separation." Ash muttered, "At any rate, I don't really blame you." Sora's eyes seemed to pop out of her head, as her head went from one side to the other. He shrugged. "If you lot don't mind, I have to get back. Misty's with me you know, and she is probably going to kill if she is up and I'm still gone."

Pulling the still clinging child off, he turned and walked off into the trees, leaving the trio behind in the clearing. Or so he thought. After a few minutes, Ash turned his head when he heard the footsteps behind him. "And you are following me, why?" he asked, clearly aggravated.

"One, I'm not following you, I'm following Angel. And two, I want to see Misty," May replied, nodding toward the little girl that was trotting along at his heels once he slowed down. Ash threw his arms up, snarling, before stomping off again. He could never be rid of such nuisances! If it wasn't the League nipping at him, it was people from his past coming back to bite him where it would hurt! "It isn't like I want to be around you any more then you want to be around me, so deal with it."

"Great, so now I just have to put up with you three until you are finished yapping to Misty." Coming up to the campsite, they saw a very much angry Misty waiting for them. Her eyes were narrowed, glittering dangerously. "There was a little trouble in the forest," he admitted, before she could go off on any of them.

Misty peered at May and Sora, before beaming at Angel. "Isn't she just a little cutie?" she said, accepting the running hug she received from the strange girl, "And if it isn't May. Gary's little sister?"

If the name registered, May didn't give any indication of it. "That's who I am."

The Water Master broke into a huge grin. "Good to see you again, now I'll have some company that doesn't consist of just pokemon or males."

With a scowl, Ash stalked away from them, muttering all the way about the 'annoying females' and 'idiots.'

- - -

A/N: I added a lot of details to the beginning. It was pretty short, that scene, so I had Kiall moving a bit more. Made him more angry, more reactive then he was in the original. I also, some might notice, obviously learned not to put little notes inside the story now. ;D I did have a note right at the beginning when it mentioned about Agatha being old, where I mention that she's ancient. Er, I took it out. There was no need for it, really.

As for the scene between Ash, May, and Elizabeth, that one took a good make-over. I made Elizabeth a lot less childish then she was, and made the scene, overall, a lot more tense. I also had Ash respond more as I could see him as responding to the situation, even though I imagine he should be a little more active rather then standing and watching them, but meh. He was in shock. XD

And I also did some changes to the conversation between Ash, May, and Sora. Originally it was just a lot of talking and not much else, so I added in the reactions and such to add to it. It makes it better, I think. Not to mention I tacked on stuff to the scene with Misty, such as her asking about May being Gary's sister, and about Angel.


	6. Chapter Six: The Battle of Cerulean City

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Pokemon, its characters, locations, or names. All of them, with the exception of the original characters, belong to Nintendo

Credits: The original fan fiction Shadow League was based off, Pokemon Master, was written by Acey. I retrieved permission before starting this the first time. Kiall and Elizabeth belong to me. "Paran" is the property of Elemental Sorceress, who had requested that I include her in my fanfiction.

A/N: Ahhh boy, I am so unorganized right now. I don't know what I'm doing. XD Anyway, I actually don't care for this chapter as much as I should. I like the battle, I like the part with Paran near the end, but overall, it could be better. But meh. It works. : And they are mostly in character I think.

Warnings: The pairing in this is RivalSibling. This fanfiction has a lot of violence and gore, not to mention some language, and implied rape/sex. Not for kids, that's for sure.

- Chapter 6: The Battle of Cerulean City -**  
**

Hiding amongst the thickets of bushes, Ash surveyed the area, watching the town that was several feet away from him. There was a tension in it, as the people went about their business; he could see the suspicion in their eyes, and could see that they knew something was coming at them. He looked to the side, when there was the sound of another body dropping down and crawling to be next to him. The brunette pushed some of the leaves out of the way, to look at the tower that had Ash narrowing his eyes.

"What's that?" she asked, as Ash smiled ruefully. He was actually amazed May didn't know about the Towers.

"You already know the first Gate was opened when Kiall was let out? Well, that Tower is at the spot were the second one would open, if its allowed to," he replied, looking over to see the confused expression on her face. "Forbidden Pokemon," he clarified.

"Why are you watching it though? There's nothing interesting there." Ash shook his head, pointing toward different people, all of which wore either shades of blue, or red, or brown, and even a few with purple or green. "What about them? They're part of the Rebellion."

"Exactly." Ash turned over onto his back, folding his hands behind his head and staring into the foliage. "There are too many Rebellion people here, and too much activity several miles away. The League is going to be attacking soon, I'm afraid."

"What? You can sense them, that far away?" she asked. Frowning, Ash picked at the blades of grass, taking his time to reply.

"I only can if there is a lot of strong elemental power coming off of them." the Shadow Master said, "A lot of Masters, in other words." May shook her head.

"Fool. If there is a lot of 'strong elemental power' coming from there, its only common sense that means there are a lot of Masters." Ash rolled his eyes, rolling back over to peer at the army that was cresting a hill in the distance. Pushing himself off of the ground, he brushed off quickly, putting a hand out to help the Ice Mistress up.

She seemed to think over whether she wanted the help or not, eyeing him warily, before taking the offered hand and pulling herself up. They walked in silence for most of the way back to the camp, until they first spotted the group. "It'll most likely be a few hours before anything happens at the town. At least there won't be a hurry," he said, letting May pass him to enter the camp first. Misty and Sora looked up at them from their positions on the ground.

"What are you on about?" the green-haired woman asked. Once again, Ash stretched, making a noise that sounded to be a strange mix of a groan and a 'mmph,' before taking a seat next to the child that was using a makeshift doll to act out a scene.

"The League is getting close to Cerulean. I am under the impression they are aiming to bring it down this time." Misty's eyes widened, flashing in anger.

"On Cerulean again? We have to stop them, they can't survive another attack!" Ash shook his head, looking at Misty, his features darkening with a deep seriousness.

"Suicide. If you prefer to die, go right on ahead, go 'stop' them. You would being doing the equivalent of jumping out in front of an army of Forbidden and attacking _them_ though." Misty went stiff, her mouth forming a thin line as what Ash said sank in. She let out a sigh, nodding in agreement.

"The smart thing to do would to wait until they get to Cerulean, then go in to attack, since we'd have the Masters of the Rebellion to back us up. Three against…however many the League has does not seem like my idea of a walk in a summer park," May remarked.

"Agreed," Ash said, getting strange looks from Misty, Sora, and May. "What?"

"I had been in the belief that you two hated each other with a passion?" Sora asked, as Ash and May looked at each other, then at her. Ash rose an eyebrow, having to hold back a laugh that was threatening to bubble up.

"So? I wasn't aware I had to love someone to agree with them. I wasn't aware I had to _like_ them to agree with them." A tense silence fell over the campsite. Misty looked around curiously at them.

"What are you three going on about? I was lost at 'I had been.'" Running a hand through his slightly mussed up hair, Ash stared at the locks that persisted on falling into his eyes gloomily, and pushed them out of the way. With a snarl, he started smoothing down his hair, tightening the ponytail.

"Before this mess with the League and the Masters, I had this mansion thing in the mountains west of Mount Moon. You remember the incident when the stadium collapsed from an explosion some years back?" he asked. Misty nodded, noting the looks Sora and May had – one of idle interest, the other of boredom – and waited for Ash to continue. "That was my doing, honestly. Blew it up. Well, at the time…"

Ash turned to stare at May, who had, quite suddenly, poked him in the side, smirking. He scowled, the giggles grating on his nerves. "What in hell was that for? Brat."

May narrowed her eyes menacingly, looking at him, before springing, pouncing at him. Angel had to fall to the side to dodge them, as they bounded off of the log they had been seated on and rolled a few feet, thrashing the whole way to both get untangled and to annoy the other. Ash turned out to be the victor of their unannounced game; he had her securely pinned down, getting a polite, if not mischievous, smile.

Misty and Sora watched with interest, before glancing at each other and grinning. "Hatred, eh?" Misty whispered, eyeing the two Masters, "I wouldn't be so sure about what they have as being hatred."

With a snicker, Sora shrugged. Ash looked at them briefly, before tilting his head to speak right into May's ear. "You have changed quite a bit in many ways, haven't you?" he asked.

It took a moment for May to realize what was being meant by the question, and she looked away for a split moment. She was starting to feel an unease at the situation she was digging herself into… "Uh, yeah, if you say so." she mumbled, carefully bending her knees and hoping the Shadow Master wouldn't take notice, "As have yourself. Now, get off."

"We are not finished yet." The growled statement almost made her laugh, but not quite. However, she did smile sweetly.

"I believe we are." Ash's eyes went wide then, as May brought her knees up so that her boot heels was in just the right position that she could hit him below the belt with ease. He had gone extremely still – and that had her wondering if he was afraid to move – as he stared at her.

"You wouldn't?" May laughed then, as Ash gave a great yelp when she pressed up with her boots, applying enough pressure to cause a jolt of pain, but to not cause any actual damage. She grinned evilly, as he scampered to get away from her wrath.

"Oh, yes I would. And now I know what I can do if you start getting out of line!" she sang, as Ash cringed at the thought. He went quiet and still again, as he peered back toward the town. They watched him, all of them wondering why there had been the sudden shift in emotion and concentration.

Ash let out a cry. "They're attacking early!" he said, prodding Pikachu awake, "We need to get to Cerulean, now!"

- - -

The army had came on, and several hours earlier then expected by any of the townspeople. The black-haired Master jumped back, panting, her eyes glowing a bright green. She had one of the League Masters dueling against her, and it seemed to be tilted in their favor, as she was a Grass Master, and they a Fire Master.

The Master murmured under their breath, fire shooting from her open palms at Erika. Dodging to the side, she was hit in the side with the blazing beam, and she had to hold back a scream from the pain she was put through. However, the stream of fire stopped, something coming to shield her.

Looking up, Erika saw that a black-cloaked man had came to stand in front of her, taking the full blunt of the attack without a whimper or a wince. She could see that his cloak was getting charred from the fire, the cloth smoking slightly were it was being hit. The Master stopped her attack, stuttering, when she took notice of who was the one that was taking on the damage.

He started glowing a translucent black, as his cloak's burned cloth healed and became new again, and the burns that were on his skin disappearing slowly, leaving pink skin. "Oh, oh, M-Master Ashura!" the girl gasped, "I-I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I didn't meant to get you with that!"

Brightly, Ash smiled, the Fire Master returning the gesture. "Hello, Paran. It's been a while."

He looked at the beaming Paran curiously, taking in her overall appearance: she wore a long, red cape for her Fire element, a red tube top and baggy black pants. Her boots were black, and looked like they needed to be cleaned because of the grass and blood that was splattered on them

Looking at the pair, Erika stealthily sneaked away from them. She found Misty finishing off one of the League's trainers, and whispered to her. With a nod, the Water Master followed her back, scowling at the sight of Paran. One blast of water had her on the ground with her arms up over her face to protect herself, and Ash turning on Misty. "You idiot! Leave her alone, she wasn't doing anything to you!" he yelled, glaring at them.

"If you didn't notice, she's part of the League! We're here to stop them, not become friends with them!" Misty snapped, folding her arms across her chest and tilting her chin up. Ash scoffed, and the two started bickering over it, both of them ignoring Erika as she tried to intervene. The battle over, trainers were running about collecting the League's trainers and Masters that were not killed and taking them to their camp for questioning.

Neither Ash nor Misty noticed Paran was hauled away, as they stood glaring at each other.

- - -

At the outskirts of the small, battered town, the Rebellion had their camp set up. There were giant tents scattered around, all of them bigger then a normal tent, and there were campfires in different areas. Ash walked amongst the tents, nodding politely to the people that greeted him – stiffly, he noticed, which came as no surprise with him being a 'traitor' and a 'rogue' to them – and he smiled humorlessly. The only reason they even took notice of his presence was because of the power he held over them.

There was a loud shriek from one of the nearby tents. Frowning, Ash's slow, leisurely pace went into a run to find the offending tent. Pulling back the flap of it to look in, he frowned. The League captives were all inside, each one shackled or tied up; most were still unconscious. A Water trainer and an Electric trainer were also inside, taking turns on each captive to question them.

"You little lying slut," the Water trainer sneered, giving Paran a strong kick in the side, knocking her over from her unbalanced seat on the ground. She whimpered. Ash snarled, stepping into the tent with his bright eyes blazing.

"You!" he barked, "You are to apologize to that woman, and then leave this tent!" With the same sneer on his face, the Water trainer turned to look arrogantly at the older man. The sneer disappeared, and he went a sickly pale color.

"Oh, it's you, Master Ashura! I hadn't recognized your voice!" he said, his voice trembling, "You look good! You've been working out, haven't-"

"I said, apologize to her! Stop stalling and wasting my time, boy!" Cringing, the trainer nodded and muttered a quick apology to Paran, before bolting out of the tent. The girl that had been his companion curtsied, staring at the Shadow Master, before following suit. With a sigh, Ash turned to Paran, untying the binds that held her. "How badly are you hurt?"

Paran stood up shakily, using Ash as a support as she gained her grounding and assessed the damage done. "A few broken ribs, at most," she replied, looking up at the scowling man.

Ash shook his head to clear his thoughts, and gently put his hands against the area her ribs were at. Paran felt the pain in her chest ebb away, as his eyes started to glow gold. "That's new, I take it. When did you learn that trick?"

Shrugging, Ash let go and leaned back against the thin support beams of the tent. "I really don't know. I found out I could when I had to help this one girl whose stomach had been torn open during a battle." He shuddered, the mental image of the incident returning. "It was not pleasant looking, I can tell you that."

"Um, well, thanks, Master-" Ash shook his head, putting his hand up to silence her.

"If you called me 'Master Ashura' one more time," he said, "I will have to hurt you, painfully and severely." Paran laughed, earning a few glares from the trainers and Masters sitting around them. She smirked when some of them started complaining, making snide remarks about her talking to the 'enemy' and the 'evil, turncoat assassin.'

"I'm sure you would, Ash." she commented, flipping off her fellow League Masters. Ash snickered, the looks on their faces at the gesture enough to amuse him for a while. Paran looked around at them. "I'm going to be leaving them though."

Ash's eyes widened, surprise showing. "Leaving? Why? You seem quite content with the League."

Paran shrugged, smiling in response. "It's not right. This nonsense with the Gates…it just isn't right. That, and it hasn't been any fun since you left us!"

"And what about Gary?" Ash couldn't help but ask, grinning at the blushing woman.

"You _still_ think I like him?" she asked, blanching when Ash nodded at her. "Why? It's been years since that…"

"I just never stopped. You two ever get together after I left the League?" Paran shook her head, her unspoken question lingering in the air. He grinned, looking away from her. "You want to know why I ask, I take it."

The Fire Master nodded. Ash pulled his hood forward, edging to the side to get out of Paran's striking range. "You are surely going to want to murder me for this one. I had tried to get him to ask you out. I suppose that failed…" Her eyes went wide.

"You did! When was that?" Ash shrugged, thinking over the space of time that happened between then and when he left.

"About a month or two before I left. He had gone red when I told him he'd do well to. I wished I had had a camera at the time, it was _hilarious_." Ash winced, when Paran came forward and punched him in the chest before he could block it. "What's that for?"

"You should have had a camera on you!" They had to support each other, as they laughed over the memory. With a snicker, Ash rubbed his eyes with a gloved hand, wiping away the tears that had formed. The light aired atmosphere changed, when there was a cough near the tent's open flap. Paran and Ash looked over at the blue-cloaked woman standing there, her green eyes narrowed.

"Pleasant. I'm sorry to intervene on such a…nice conversation," May said, not at all sounding it, "but there is supposed to be a Master's Meeting called, and…" She looked at Paran suspiciously, before continuing. "…Misty had said that you are to attend it. She actually said she'd, 'beat the Shadows' out of you if you ran away."

Ash winced and scowled again, kicking at the ground with the toe of his boot, startling one of the trainers near him. Misty would go through with her threat, and he knew it. With a nod, he frowned. "You are to be attending it also, am I right, Paran?"

"Sure thing. I do have to announce my new position in the world," Paran said, as May turned to regard her with glaring eyes.

"Just don't be late. It's to be at sundown tonight." May looked at them once more, before exiting. Paran shivered.

"Chilly person, ain't she?" she said, frowning, "Bitter, too." Ash closed his eyes, nodding solemnly. "You're hurting."

He stared at her. "No, I'm not. Any wounds I received in the battle were-"

Paran shook her head, placing her hands on the sides of his face gently, her eyes sympathetic. "No. You are hurting on the inside, not the outside," she clarified, "I can see it in your eyes. It's the same look you had when we met in Indigo. Haunted. Pained."

"I'm not hurt," Ash said flatly, backing and turning away, pulling his cloak tighter around him, "not now."

"Regretting something, then." Ash looked at her. Paran shrugged, walking over and patting him on the shoulder. "I'll stop. So, how's the weather been?"

He couldn't help but smile. It was always like Paran to switch to a new topic that was strange for the situation. "Fine. After this meeting, would you like to come with the others and me? I really don't trust the Rebellion with you," he asked.

Paran beamed, nodding. "That's fine by me. Things'll be more fun that way."

Ash wondered if Paran really knew what she was in store for…

- - -

A/N: The only part here that had a manage revamping plot-wise was the scene with Ash and Paran in the tent, especially after May announces the meeting, and in the scene when Ash and May are rolling around.


	7. Chapter Seven: Master Meeting

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Pokemon, its characters, locations, or names. All of them, with the exception of the original characters, belong to Nintendo

Credits: The original fan fiction Shadow League was based off, Pokemon Master, was written by Acey. I retrieved permission before starting this the first time. Kiall and Elizabeth belong to me. "Paran" is the property of Elemental Sorceress, who had requested that I include her in my fanfiction.

A/N: I have a cold. Dammit. It is probably from all of the stress I have had on me lately, with the stuff going on with SOVA and the like...it sucks so bad. T.T And I still need to figure out what to be for Halloween now.

Warnings: The pairing in this is RivalSibling. This fanfiction has a lot of violence and gore, not to mention some language, and implied rape/sex. Not for kids, that's for sure.

- Chapter 7: Master Meeting - 

The fire roared, the bright light dancing on the faces of the Masters sitting around it. Ash sat down on one of the logs surrounding it, Paran taking a seat next to him. There were only about five that were recognizable there: Erika, May, Misty, and then two new Masters Ash recognized as being Lance and Melody. The other few were keeping to the back, doing nothing more then listening. Lance looked around at them, pausing when he saw Paran. "Do you all know why we are all here?" he asked, receiving nods from the assembly, minus Ash and Paran.

"What is this about, Lance?" Ash asked, earning a surprised look from the older man. Sighing, he shrugged. "What?"

"Ash? Ashura? Is that really you?" The Shadow Master snorted, shaking his head in exasperation. _Idiot,_ he thought.

"No, Lance, I'm the twin brother you never knew he had!" he said, "Really now, how thick headed can you be?" Lance laughed, giving the sour Master a smile.

"It has been a long time."

"Yes, it has been, but enough with the pleasantries, we have work to do. What is going on that a meeting needed to be called?" Lance looked past him, to the woman on Ash's right – Paran. There was silence, as the Dragon Master looked questioningly at them.

"And what of her? She is, as you know, part of the League." The silence thickened when he finished, as they all turned to Ash for some sort of an answer; some of their eyes were suspicious and threatening, while others were calm and unbiased. Ash rubbed his temples, feeling the beginning of a headache, as he thought over the answer.

"Well," he started, "Paran has stated that she has decided to leave the League. As it seems to me, she will being traveling with me while I work on halting the opening of the Gates." Misty, Erika, and Melody turned their stares onto Paran, shock etched into their faces.

"You've left them?" Melody asked, her eyes going wide. Ash spared Lance a glance, before cutting off any comment one of them would make.

"As I just said, she has. Now if you don't mind, do any of you know what I need to do?" he asked, changing the subject back to the problem at hand. Humming quietly, Lance cupped his chin in his hand as he waited, letting the others settle down and go quiet before answering.

"I think you will have to go in and kill the 'Chosen' of the Gates, as they're currently being called. That might have changed since I last checked, but I believe Agatha, Sabrina, Blaine, and Gary are them." Lance scowled bitterly. "Of course, Kiall would never place himself in danger by becoming one himself. He still needs to be taken out, however."

Running a hand through his longish hair wearily, Ash sighed. "Kill them all off, got it. Then what do I have to do after that?"

"It isn't as simple as just 'killing them all off,' as you so eloquently put it, Ash," Lance said, looking disapprovingly at him, "You must first bring down Agatha and Sabrina, then become Bonded, then go after Gary, Blaine, and Kiall."

"…Bonded? What in the Shadows is that supposed to be?" Ash asked. May sighed, shaking her head, before cursing under her breath. Several of the Masters looked at her worriedly.

"You moron! Ash, you are the Shadow Master!" Ash turned his own gold eyes to her green ones, curiosity shining in them. "You should already know about the Bonding and the prophecy."

He glared at her, the smirk May getting irritating him even more. "I don't know what it is and have never even heard of it. What the hell is it?"

Lance's lips quirked up in a smirk, watching the snarling pair. "Calm yourselves, Master Ashura and Mistress Marian. And to your question…it is not known what it is…precisely."

In all reality, he knew exactly what it was; Lance just didn't want to be near Ash when he found out!

"And, who, O intelligent one, am I to be 'Bonded' to?" Ash asked, getting more and more waspish. Lance chortled.

"Of course, that much is obvious, The Light Mistress." Ash sputtered, standing up abruptly to stare around at them.

"The Light Mistress?" he yelled, earning disapproving looks from many of the assembly, "I refuse to go anywhere near her!" May let out a harsh, bark-like laugh.

"You're acting like a child. Now stop whining and be a man!" she said, earning a glowering look from the Shadow Master, "And from what I was seeing just the other day, you didn't seem to be too upset about Elizabeth being around and active again."

The tinge of pink that appeared was enough to silence her – smirking triumphantly - as Ash turned to the others, most of which were sniggering. "The Light Mistress? Mistress Lizzie?" Paran asked.

"You'd been told before to address her as Liz, and not Lizzie," the low growl caused an uneasiness to break out among the Masters, as they whispered to each other. Misty frowned at Ash, before shifting to look at Lance.

"Why is it even necessary?" she questioned, as Lance smiled. The older man put a hand up, all but his index finger being curled down.

"What would be stronger? One pikachu, or-" Lance put up another finger. "-two pikachu's?"

"Well, two, of course. Two of them." Lance nodded, putting his hand down on his lap.

"There you go then, you have your answer." Ash scowled, rolling his eyes. Hands on hips, he glared at the amused Dragon Master.

"If it involves Elizabeth, then you can forget about it! I am not going to have anything to do with her," he said quietly. Lance looked disapprovingly at Ash, before a slow, sad smile formed on his lips.

"You might not be able to…" They looked in surprise at him.

"Why is that?" Melody asked. Shaking her head, Misty gave the younger girl a quieting look. Nodding, she looked away. Ash threw his arms up, his frustration mounting.

"Make up your damned mind! Will I or won't I?" he snapped. Lance sighed, holding his head up as he watched the curious group. Things were never easy when it involved the Shadow Master, to him.

"In your current mindset, no. This meeting is over."

- - -

With a frown, Ash kicked a stone, watching it hop across the ground away from him. The black sky stretched on overhead, stars splattered across the inky surface. He tilted his head up, eyes closed as the wind blew gently; he felt a comfort in the shadows thrown by the tents and trees, and in the dark that was at its best late at night.

Ash frowned deeper, feeling the prickling sensation that warned him of the presence that was following him, watching him. Looking over his shoulder, there was nothing but clear air to be seen. The feeling still there, he slipped behind one of the tents, his footsteps silent and leaving barely any indication of his being there. He wanted to find who was walking in his wake as soon as he could; he was starting to grow weary from the events of the day, not being exempt from the needs of all humans.

Spotting the dark form that was crouched at the other side of the tent, he walked up behind it. The cloaked shoulders were heaving up and down, the breathing fairly loud for someone that was a Master, and their head covered by the hood. Ash pulled them up, a scowl in place. "Who…"

- - -

Paran folded up her red cloak, setting it to the side for the night. She was tired from being in the Cerulean Battle, then being beaten by the young trainers, and the whole incident of the Meeting. It was causing her to have second thoughts on accepting the invitation to go on the wild goose chase for the so-called Gates…

Crawling onto the cot that was to be a bed, she closed her eyes to fall into a good night's sleep. The fogginess of sleep had started to take over her mind and body, as she was jerked away by a whimper outside her tent. Bolting up out of bed, she rushed out to see who was in trouble or hurt.

It was a small girl, wide eyed and staring at an Arbok – a Shadow Arbok, Paran noted with alarm – which was hissing at the child, it's tongue lashing out as it readied itself to strike. Shooting a fireball at the offending pokemon, she herded the girl into the tent. "What's your name, sweetie?" Paran asked the sniffling girl, smoothing her hair down.

"Angel." The name sounded familiar to the Fire Mistress, but she couldn't put a finger as to were she would have heard it…

"What were you doing all on your own out there?" she asked, as Angel blinked and looked around.

"I was looking for Daddy," she answered quietly, shakily. Paran heard the way it was said – like she shouldn't of answered it the way she did. Deciding to figure it out later, she set out to find out who exactly the frightened child was looking for.

"What does he look like?" Angel looked at her, nodded in understanding.

"He's taaalll." Angel put her arm up to indicate how tall, and Paran had to stifle a laugh; it was obvious whoever it was she was talking about was much taller then where the child was reaching. "He wears black stuff, like his cloak and stuff. Blue, too." Paran felt herself go slightly pale. "And he has a pikachu! It's like the scary one that was out there."

"Oh?" Angel nodded. Taking the child's hand, Paran stood up. "Come on, I think I know where to take you to."

- - -

"Ouch! Idiot!" The two fell to the ground, as the form struggled to get away from Ash. He rubbed his head were he'd hit one of the stakes, muttering under his breath, before looking at who he had found. May.

"What are you doing out here?" he asked, watching her pull her cloak out from under her. May looked away, biting her lip thoughtfully, as Ash waited for an answer. He nudged her as the minutes started going by.

"I wanted to make sure you were fine. The Meeting seemed to have ruffled you a bit." she admitted, gaining a curious look from Ash, "What?"

"Oh…oh." They sat in silence, neither opening their mouths to say anything to the other, until May shot her own question.

"Why did you get upset about whether Elizabeth was called 'Lizzie' or 'Liz'?" Ash shook his head, pulling his hood up to throw his face in a deep shadow. His eyes had turned dark.

"That is none of your business. It's all in the past, anyhow." May sat back on her heels, smoothing down her short skirt. Her eyes darted back up.

"Obviously not to you, by the fact it still bothers you." The silent glare barely surprised the Ice Mistress. Ash pulled his cloak tighter, the brooch at his neck glinting in the minimal light that hit it – May hadn't even noticed the design on it until then – and let out a groan.

"You want an answer? Fine then. I used to call Mistress Elizabeth 'Lizzie,' and no one else was allowed to. By her own words, that was _my_ name for her, not anyone else's." May could feel how deep the anguish was, of the memory that had long been kept locked inside. Ash let out a shuddering breath, his eyes turning to a bright red for a moment, before fading back to gold. May looked around, suddenly unnerved by the change.

"I'm tired. So tired…" he said, nearly whispering, "I'm going to bed."

- - -

The sun was up, shining clearly in the sky, as the small group of women sat in a compact circle. They were enjoying the sunlight, and the warmth it brought, while they still could. Erika grinned, her eyes glittering in the light. "Well, Ms. Marian, you are certainly close to the resident Shadow, aren't you?" she asked, feigning innocence in her voice.

Her eyes narrowed, May turned a menacing look onto the Grass Mistress. "And what makes you think that?"

Paran broke out into a smile, lying in the grass in comfort. "Oh, I don't know. It would appear to me as if there is something between you two…that is, when you aren't trying to rip each other apart."

"I really do have to agree with her on that one," Misty, reluctantly, admitted. She still didn't trust the newcomer, no matter who the Fire Master knew or what she said. Erika nodded, putting her hair band back in as they talked.

"I am not, I repeat, am not, close to that idiot!" May snapped, frowning at them. She didn't feel the need to let them know of the previous night's happenings, and what she had learned; she also didn't feel the need to admit to any of them what was really in her mind and heart. The other women snickered, all of them grinning.

"Oh, really?" Misty asked, "Are you sure? You two playing around the other day doesn't exactly back up your statement all that well…"

With a smile, the dark-haired woman that was standing among the trees teleported.

- - -

A/N: Ok, changes again. I changed how Ash acted in the meeting itself. In the original, I sweat he makes me think of a little kid on a sugar high with how often he was yelling. So rather then go that route this time, I decided to have him be more sarcastic and angry, rather then angry and excited.

I also changed the atmosphere of when he was walking around. I added some details into it (prickling sensation, etc). Then I also had it where you saw what happened before Ash and May were talking. In the original, it went from where he said "Who..." to the scene with Paran (still in here), and then to a scene of him and May talking. Rather then that, I decided to have the beginning of the talking scene show what happened and how Ash realized who it was.

I also made it a little clearer that May was worried, more then in the original. I also changed a bit of stuff in the end. It was a slightly shorter scene in the original, and I added some more dialog into it and detail, but otherwise it held the same idea to it.


	8. Chapter Eight: Inner Demon

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Pokemon, its characters, locations, or names. All of them, with the exception of the original characters, belong to Nintendo

Credits: The original fan fiction Shadow League was based off, Pokemon Master, was written by Acey. I retrieved permission before starting this the first time. Kiall and Elizabeth belong to me. "Paran" is the property of Elemental Sorceress, who had requested that I include her in my fanfiction.

A/N: Ah, yes, I'm getting over my cold. Much better. Now then, chapter eight. :) Things are getting better and a lot more interesting then before. XD

And since it involves SL, I'll just talk about it here. I want to make an online web manga thing out of SL(T). I posted on dA about it just a bit ago, but I'm not sure if it'll work out or not, since I need an artist for it. / So here we are. If you are interested, just go send me a note or something at my dA account, ShadowMistress.

Warnings: The pairing in this is RivalSibling. This fan fiction has a lot of violence and gore, not to mention some language, and implied rape/sex. Not for kids, that's for sure.

- Chapter 8: Inner Demon -

Stretching his stiffening limbs, Ash blinked sleepily as the dim light from the rising sun stung his eyes. He felt the small form that was Pikachu stir beside him, yawning, and both turned to look at the larger form that was Lance; he was sharing a tent with them, and was snoring loudly on his cot. Otherwise, it was perfectly quiet.

Swinging his legs over to get up, Ash let out a sigh. It was due to be a long day. He had already stalled a day to give the town time to rest before he went in to cause whatever massacre would happen when the Gate was either opened or shut, and it was time to go do what he had to do. "Come on, we need to get going," he hissed, poking the black-furred creature, "We're going to the tower."

With silent footsteps, Ash left the tent, Pikachu clinging to his shoulder. Lance slit an eye open, to look at the empty cot.

- - -

"Ashura! Where the hell are you?" Misty yelled, cupping her hands over her mouth to magnify the sound. She was looking for the black-clad man, and to no avail. When there was a shout behind her, she twisted about to meet the eyes of Paran and Lance. Both of them were pale in the face. "What's happened? What's wrong?"

Paran shook her head, and pointed back the way they had came. "He left!" At the puzzled look Misty got, the Fire Master sighed. "Ash! He left!"

"L-LEFT?" They winced, as Misty advanced on them, her eyes bulging. "What do you mean he left!"

"We mean, he got up and walked away!" Lance said, pulling a hand through his hair, "I think he went to go fight Sabrina. He was mumbling about the tower earlier."

"Why didn't you even try to stop him?" Misty asked, her voice rising steadily. Lance patted the air with his hands to calm the woman, as people started noticing the panic rising in the Masters.

"That would have been a death wish." he answered, keeping to a whisper to keep from alarming any more people, "I'd rather stay in one piece, thanks. You know what he's like just as well as I do, even if we haven't been around him all that long. He will not let anyone stand in his way if he is on a mission."

Defeated, Misty turned to Paran. "Where is May? She'll probably want to help us with this."

"Well…." Paran bit her lower lip, frowning slightly. She glanced around. "…she went after him."

"Say what?" Looking toward the slightly dark horizon, the outline of the tower was visible, contrasting starkly against the sky. "The both of them are lunatics! Crazy!"

"If all of us go, it could cause more problems then just the two of them. We'll have to wait until they return," Lance, hesitantly, said. Misty shook her head.

"_If_ they return, you mean."

- - -

"Come on girl. Return, Fiona." The ice pokemon articuno squawked, shaking her sleek, feathered head. The poke ball had other plans then the ice type, however; a beam of light shot out of the inside, and surrounded the huge bird to suck her inside. Tucking the blue poke ball away, May surveyed the area. She was in the shelter of the trees, several feet from the tower's walls, and with a clearing between them. No pokemon nor animal was around.

Darting through the trees, she came to a spot that was closer to the edge then she had originally been, and ran across, keeping low to the ground. Getting against the wall, she held her breath as she waited for some type of attack by a sentient or Master.

When none came, she edged around to the front, to the large wooden doors. She went to open it, when she felt her mind scream out in alarm, as it felt like the floor had dropped out from under her. May let out a short gasp, as everything went dark and utterly silent.

There was a soft _pop!_, and everything went into her view again. She had been moved elsewhere – teleported. She was sitting on the floor of a room, which appeared to be several stories up by the look the windows had. Across from her were three of the people she hadn't expected to see so soon, or at all: Kiall, Gary, and Sabrina.

Her eyes narrowed, as she looked at them, one at a time. "Hello, Marian. Long time, no see," Gary sneered at her.

May, staying silent, mentally reached out for some sign of the familiar aura of the Shadow Master. It was, within her range, nonexistent. _Something isn't right about this._ She knew he surely wasn't that slow a traveler! "What have you done to Ashura? Where is he?" she asked, getting into a crouching position.

"Hm, straight to the point, I see." Kiall, his expression amused, sat back in his chair as he nodded to the psychic. Sabrina's eyes started glowing as her hair floated about her head in dark moving waves, her element being channeled. There was a loud hissing sound of air escaping through a crack, and the door beside Kiall's chair squealed open to reveal a dark, empty room.

Or, as May noticed, a dark, not-so-empty room. There were two points of light in the room, both of them a bright menacing red and frightening to even her. Her eyes widened. _A Shadow pokemon?_, was her first thought.

Kiall let out a cold, humorless laugh that chilled her already cold bones. "Close, very close, m'dear." he said, with a cruel smile, "Indeed, is that a Shadow pokemon? Shadow, yes, but hardly a pokemon…in fact, he is almost perfectly human."

May's heart felt like it clenched, as a thick dread closed around it. There was light shining in through the windows, more then enough to light both the room she was in and the one through the doorway; it was, however, still extremely dark. No light was able to penetrate the blackness, causing an eerie effect. "No, that can't be…it can't," she said, staring at those narrow blood red eyes.

Her head tilted forward, Sabrina nodded. "Come out. It is time to play, Ashura."

Ash stepped out, staring ahead with those hard, red eyes. May gasped, noticing it wasn't that he was walking, but actually gliding; his boots were several inches off the tiled floor, pointing down. His face was thrown into shadow by the hood that was pulled up, and his cloak swirled around his lithe form making hardly a whisper of noise. In silence, he stood next to Sabrina and Kiall.

"I take it by your question that you already know Ashura." Gary said, going into an explanation, "You didn't know he has a split persona though, did you, dearest sister of mine?"

Shaking her head, May stared between Ash and Gary, her tentative ally and enemy respectively. Gary laughed. "As you know, he joined the League several years ago. At that time he was quite torn up mentally, physically, and emotionally. So much hate, anger, grief had built up inside of him, that it was too much. Not to mention his power was growing steadily and wildly, and it was proving to be more then a lone person could have handled on their own." he said, "So, on all fronts except physical, he was torn into two separate people with very little to no gradual change. Ashura took on being his normal self, as respectful as he could be, loving even, with that zest for life that most wouldn't have thought he could have had before then.

"Then, then there was _Mazin_! Oh, he is one to reckon with. Unlike Ashura who still had that spark of compassion – which doesn't say much, since most didn't have the honor of receiving it – Mazin didn't. He was evil by all definitions of the word. He despises life like the demon he is."

"Mazin…" May said, letting the name roll off her tongue. Sabrina looked at Ash, who barely even glanced at her, then to Kiall and Gary. The former smiled.

"Ashura." He lifted his chin, alert and attentive. "She's all yours. Do as you wish."

May, alarmed, looked between the group, her eyes wide. The three League Masters grinned evilly, and turned to glance at Ash. Without a sound, his booted feet touched the floor and he crouched down to prepare to pounce. _Oh no…oh no, oh great, he's going to try to kill me!_

Hurriedly, May scrambled up off the floor and bolted for the door, as Ash leaped out. She dodged out of the way, swatting him away, and flung the door open. Without a second glance back, she ran.

- - -

_Surely the tower isn't as tall as it feels like it is…._ The stairs seemed to spiral eternally, never ending and never relenting. May peered over her shoulder, looking for the silent man that was following close by. She felt like they were playing some twisted game, in which there was no winning or losing. Just death.

There was a door a few steps down. Taking a deep breath, she jumped down to the landing, and put all her weight into the door, tumbling through. It was a large, empty room. Slamming the wooden door shut, she slipped into the shadows to hide in one of the corners. She slowed her breathing to a minimum, quieting her panting.

Only seconds later, the dim outline that was Ash entered. He looked around, perfectly at ease, and frowned slightly. _Please, please don't have night vision…don't be able to see in the dark._

May felt as if some higher being was having a good laugh at the situation, as the Shadow Master narrowed his glowing eyes, and his head jerked to the side to look at her. With a smirk, he slipped off into the room, actually disappearing into the very shadows. _Oh no._

She yelped as Ash came up behind her, his sudden appearance startling. May scowled, and bolted across the room, gaining speed. Coming up to the wall, she jumped and struck the stone with her feet to gain extra leverage as she flew toward the ceiling.

Panting heavily, May took a hold of a ceiling beam, and hoisted herself onto it. Looking down briefly, she started along it at a steady pace, hoping to distance herself farther from her stalker. The beam jolted, as the second form landed on it, causing vibrations throughout the wood.

May let out a small moan, as she felt the wall where the beam ended. She turned around, putting her back against it as she looked about the gloom. She fumbled about to let her pokemon out, her fingers slipping on the poke ball that held Fiona, as the beam continued to vibrate with the Master's footsteps. _Come on! I need you!_ Just as she was about to unlatch it from its belt, her wrist was jerked away, a jolt of pain causing a slight spasm in her hand. Defiantly, she stared directly into the red eyes of what was normally to be her ally in the fight against the League.

"No." With a scream, May sank her teeth into the part of his hand that was open to the attack, and she tasted the blood that bubbled up. Satisfied with the distraction, May pulled her own hand free, using her other one to do the motions for one of her Elemental attacks. The beam froze over under their feet, as May jumped and did a flip to land on the floor below. She looked up at the invisible form above – she could feel small specks of the ice falling off the beam, as the Shadow Master fought for his footing on the slick wood. Taking advantage of the time she had, May ran, taking to the staircase again.

The next room proved smaller, and darker. The single window in the room was locked and covered, letting in no light. _No matter._ May felt around the room's walls, starting in surprise when she felt her knee hit what felt like a mattress, and her heart sank.

She had just trapped herself in Sabrina's bedroom.

Continuing her circuit around the room, she felt around for anything that could be used for a weapon; she didn't feel like using her Elemental weapons, not when she knew how well Ash could track someone using theirs. All she was able to find, however, were a few useless stuffed animals. As she went to search in the closet, she felt a sharp pain in her back, as the breath flew out of her. She fell against the wall, clutching her chest.

"Please, stop it! This isn't you, Ashura! Fight him!" May cried, lashing out blindly, her hands balled into fists. There was a sharp intake of breath, but otherwise no reply or reaction; she hadn't expected to get one from him, not in the condition he was in. She did expect for him to fight back, to counter her punches and put in his own.

Instead, she felt him grab both her wrists – again – and hold her still, his eyes narrowed dangerously. Ash let go then, turning his back on her and stepping back toward the door, his head bowed slightly as if in thought. May blinked, starting toward the wall again, in hopes of at least keeping the tides to her favor, as he turned and grinned. She didn't like it.

In an instant, he darted at her, his fingers curled as if to try to do a slashing attack. May ducked out of the way, edging out from under his swinging arm. At that moment, she realized the error she had made in raising to his bait, as he pulled her over by the neck of her shirt. She squirmed, as the powerful Master put an arm around her waist, his grip around her neck tightening slightly.

She would have laughed, had the situation not became so dire, as he put his head down, nuzzling her; it was an almost playful movement. It was actually intriguing. May yelped, as she was roughly turned about – Ash surely couldn't have done it gently even if he had wanted to, not with how she fought it – and frowned. It was becoming increasingly alarming. _Fight it!_

Caught between the wall and the Shadow Master, May let out a cry, first pushing then punching at his chest. Ash snapped her hands together with one hand, holding her chin with the other. _No._ She let out a squeal of pain, as he pressed his lips against hers, the gesture being harsh and anything but kind. "Don't…"

May's eyes widened. She heard, with almost totally clarity, Ash's pained and angry voice in her mind, surprising her: _You damned monster! Get the hell away from her!_

Sabrina. She realized it was the psychic's doing, giving her the ability to hear into what was happening behind those glowing eyes that were flickering from the inner conflict going on at that very moment. Hoping that it also went the other way around, May flung her arms around his neck, giving Ash her own kiss. _Keep at it! Come on, you're getting there! Just a little farther, Ash! Mazin is faltering!_, she hurriedly thought out, as she felt him shudder.

Ash backed off, falling to his knees. He was shaking, his shoulders raising and falling as his breathing turned heavy and labored. Letting out a strangled cry, he collapsed.

- - -

Sabrina shrieked, her eyes wide and fearful. She did the same as the Shadow Master, falling to the floor with a shudder. _How…how could he do it…_, she thought, the pain that had ran through her mind weakening.

When she felt the last of the pain filter away, she Felt around the tower with her mind, looking for the pair that was a mere five floors below. One of them was unconscious, the mental struggle being too much for them, and the other was next to them. Sabrina shut her eyes and took a deep breath, running a hand through her hair. With a sigh, she peered around the room meekly. Her plan to use the internal battle between Ashura and Mazin had backfired.

Instead of scaring the Ice Master, it had just spurred her to cheer the idiot Shadow Master on! Her control had been broken.

- - -

"Come on! Wake up, Ash!" May patted the unconscious man on the cheek, the sharp taps causing nothing more then a slight twitch from him. "Ash!"

She shook him slightly, his head lolling to the side and his black hair falling over his closed eyes. The small pokemon that was Pikachu was at her side, having recovered easier then his Master had. The Shadow pokemon had followed close behind them from the beginning, keeping to the sidelines and watching, with no orders to attack. "Let's see if this'll work."

May let a ball of ice form in her cupped hands, watching the water freeze up. When it finished, she let it melt down, and the freezing water splashed down through her fingers. Ash choked and gagged, thoroughly shocked back to consciousness. She gently rubbed his back, as he rolled over to cease coughing. "Shadow's light, I have a headache," he groaned.

Ash blinked his eyes, which had returned to their normal gold color, and frowned. "I'm sorry." he said, "I'm sorry, May. This…that wasn't right at all. No one deserves that…you don't deserve that."

"Never mind it." May waved her hand airily, giving him a cheerful smile. "Though, what was that?"

He shook his head, fiddling with his cloak uneasily. "I take it Sabrina probably already made it top priority to tell you all about Mazin." It was a statement, instead of a question. "Normally, it's like a black-out period when I switch from myself to him. When I wake up I don't know what happened, how long I'd been 'out,' or what I'd done. I'm not sure why that wasn't the case this time…"

"Sabrina probably thought it would be funny to make you suffer through seeing your opposite…in action, if you will." May commented, "It is the type of cruel joke one of them would pull and get enjoyment out of."

Getting to his feet, Ash whistled for Pikachu. The pokemon jumped up onto his shoulder. "She will not get away with this," he seethed, stomping out of the room, "She will die!"

- - -

Sabrina looked on solemnly, as the door flew open and Ash stalked in. "Anger is a mentally hindering emotion, Ashura. I suggest you hold it in check, before you make any reckless decisions," she said.

"I suggest you run and hide again unless you want to taste your own blood." With a nod to Pikachu, the pokemon started glowing a blue-ish black. He jumped up into the air, and shifted into the long, Elemental sword. Ash took the Shadow Blade up, going into his battle stance. "Since you are such a mighty psychic, I'm pretty sure you'll of saw this-" He thrust forward with the blade, aiming at her shoulder.

Sabrina dodged out the way, putting a leg out to trip him up. Ash did a half jump, half run to keep from crashing down. He went into a roll, coming up on his feet across the room from the woman, and turned on his heel to face her. She had started a chant. Seeing the opening, Ash went into another barreling run, the end of the Shadow Blade sinking into the flesh of her shoulder.

With barely a glance at the wound, she continued her chant, and a blast of Psychic energy was sent at him. Ash fell to one knee, letting a shield of Shadow electricity easily form to deflect it. As the energy dissipated, he pulled his sword across, causing a massive gash across the psychic's abdomen. Dark energy wrapped itself around her form, covering her. She let out a loud, horrified shriek as her life force was pulled violently and painfully out of her body.

As the energy dissolved into the air, she fell to the floor as if she was nothing more then a rag doll that had been played with. Ash flicked the blood off the Shadow Blade, before letting it change back into his faithful Pikachu. He went over to the window, and leaned out of it until he was half in and half out. The sky was a sickening purple, with a dark vortex wailing overhead. It looked large enough to swallow the tower whole if it wished, and shadowy shapes flew about it. Looking down, he saw several more Forbidden encircling the tower; they were the ones that were Earth-bound. "I was too late. It opened already," he said, frowning as he pulled himself back in, "We need to hurry back to the camp and gather the others. I can't let the other one take the same path as this one."

- - -

The windows opened, May stared out at the sick sky, as the vortex filled it steadily. She turned about, frowning, as Ash came to a stop from the run he had been in. He stood in the doorway panting, his eyes bright and glittering. "I take it you killed Sabrina?" she asked.

"Of course not. We actually had quite a lovely time you know, having tea and lunch!" The sarcasm oozed from his voice. May rose an eyebrow.

"Oh?" She snickered, and turned to regard him carefully. She looked disapproving, her mouth turned down in a frown. "Ash?"

"Eh?"

"Next time you go to run off like this, to try to save the world from the harm it's going into…warn me before hand." May said, "I rather not have to go on a blind search again." It was Ash's turn to regard her, his head tilted to the side and his arms folded across his chest.

"I'll make a note to do so," he assured her, waving his hand. There was a small explosion, and a gaping hole in what was once the wall with the window. "Hm, what?"

"The wall…you just blasted a…holy love of light, what is that?" Ash smiled, baring most of his pearly teeth, as the disk that had formed underneath his feet started levitating some inches from the ground. He tapped a foot on it, getting a solid ringing sound from it.

"Shadow Levitation….It's the Shadow Disk. It's like….a form of transportation or a defense for battle, depending on what it's used for." The disk expanded outward, the surface area enlarging enough for another person to jump on. "Come on, we need to get out of here before they swarm the tower."

Pikachu let out a squeal, jumping onto May's shoulder and pointing at the disk. She eyed the dark circle, bending down to touch it; it was solid. With a smile, she stepped onto the hovering thing. "I'm ready when you are," she said, wrapping her arms around his torso to keep from falling off.

- - -

A/N: In the scene when May is approaching the tower, she originally ran straight across to the tower rather then trying to get as close as possible before doing so...I, er, changed that, since it seemed like a stupid move on her part.

There was also a statement Kiall made about Ash being part pokemon. I decided that might make things harder then they had to be, so rather then saying that, I had him say he's 'almost perfectly human.' There was also a point when May asked why Mazin was called..well, Mazin, which I decided was pointless and didn't need to be in it. XD The way Ash goes after her in the room with Kiall and them is also differently. Originally it was actually really robotic what he did (slow steps), and I thought it might be better if it was more like he was lashing out to kill rather then stalk, so... XD

I also added to the part where May is wishing that Ash couldn't see in the dark. I thought it might be more in character for him to do a disappearing act by slipping off somewhere and come up behind rather then just going poof, gone.

Some of the dialog in the scene located in Sabrina's bedroom was changed. Originally May yelled at Ash to stop what he was pulling (which...really made no damn sense.) so I went for having her tell him to fight Mazin. Which is rather redundant considering he probably was anyway. XD I also had May try to attack him, rather then stand and stare at him. I also added in on how Ash caught her. Originally he just grabbed her by the shoulders (real fighter there, eh?) and there wasn't a real struggle; so, rather then that, I went with what I did, May trying to duck away and getting caught up, and then punching him and pushing him to get away and failing.

I also added in Ash's mental intrusion and fight, as it seemed like it'd add more to the story if Ash wasn't totally out of it during the whole thing. XD;; Especially with how Mazin struggles through parts of it. I also had Ash a lot more apologetic when he woke up then he was in the original. In the battle with Sabrina, this time I decided to have Ash be a little more of a warrior and less like some amateur or something. DX


	9. Chapter Nine: Dimension of Shadow

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Pokemon, its characters, locations, or names. All of them, with the exception of the original characters, belong to Nintendo

Credits: The original fan fiction Shadow League was based off, Pokemon Master, was written by Acey. I retrieved permission before starting this the first time. Kiall and Elizabeth belong to me. "Paran" is the property of Elemental Sorceress, who had requested that I include her in my fan fiction.

A/N: Back to uploading! Even though I should probably wait until I get to reformatting the computer before playing around with FFN, I'm going to anyway.

I'm also still looking for that artist, if anyone wants to do the on line manga/doujishin thing for SL. XD

The story is getting close to the halfway point. It's rather exciting, really. But I'll get into that when we get there, since I'm oh-so-sure you are drying to get onto the chapter. /sarcasm P;

Warnings: The pairing in this is RivalSibling. This fan fiction has a lot of violence and gore, not to mention some language, and implied rape/sex. Not for kids, that's for sure.

- - -

Chapter 9: Dimension of Shadow

Ash looked around, his eyes half-closed in a relaxed state. They had left the Rebellion camp to go on their way, needing to get to the Second Tower, and they were in the gloom of Lavender Forest. He half regretted having to make Sora and Angel stay at the base, but with what was to come…it would have proved too dangerous for them.

He had the Shadow Disk fully formed, humming quietly, and using it to travel faster then he could walking. Lance was on his Dragonair, who would nip at the Shadow Master every once in a while after a silent order from her master - Ash scowled at him every time as Lance smirked - and behind him was Misty and Paran on the Water Master's Suicune. Pikachu's ears drooped when Ash shifted uncomfortably; a few _minutes_ of being clung to by May was one thing, but a few _hours_ was a different matter altogether. "Chaaa."

Sending the pokemon a mental message to keep quiet, Ash went stiff. A gentle breeze had started to pick up, their cloaks fluttering about and rippling. Several pairs of crimson eyes blinked into appearance in the shadows of the various bushes and trees; they glared out at them like so many demons. "Keep going." Lance whispered, keeping his voice down and his eyes moving about as he looked at the surrounding forest, "Don't pause or stop…"

The Shadow Pokemon seemed to have other things in mind then letting them pass easily. The breeze turned into a strong wind, then a raging one. It howled loudly, whistling through the trees and bending branches. Dragonair let out a terrified scream, wrapping her long tail around the trunk of one of the trees to stabilize herself against the wind. Misty and Paran pulled tightly on Suicune's fur, feeling the pull of the power of air on them, as the legendary dog pokemon clenched her powerful jaws into the long dragon's lank body to stay ground-bound, eyes squinted in concentration.

Unlike them, neither Ash nor May were as lucky with the attack. The Shadow Disk bucked and tilted, spinning wildly in the blasting wind. "Can't you control this thing?" May called over the screaming wind, speaking into Ash's ear.

He winced, as Dragonair strained to reach the Disk, her jaws snapping to get a hold of it so it would be stilled. With no time to answer the question, Ash pressed his weight down, forcing the black circle to lower. It was a useless attempt, as the gust blew it back up as the wind grew stronger and louder. The eyes peering at them from the darkness started glowing an even deeper red.

The Disk faltered, as they were blown off of it. The energy dissipated, as Ash did a half-flip in the air to reach a nearby tree branch, and keeping a tight grip on it. May let out a sound that was almost like a yowl, struggling to hang on as she put her arm around his neck, holding onto his cloak. Ash felt like he was being strangled. _Damn woman! This is why I never traveled with anyone!_

"Oh hell!" Ash yelped, as the branch snapped and splintered from the pressure. They were flung away, flying like a pair of dolls that had been thrown.

- - -

When the Forbidden had finally left, and they were able to scout around, Paran found a hollowed tree that was large enough for them to use as a make-shift tent. Misty returned Suicune to the blue poke ball that was designated to her, looking around for any sign of either human or pokemon, before crawling in to join them. A fire was already burning, warming her immediately.

"I do hope Ash and May are going to be alright." Paran said, rubbing her hands in front of the fire, "That branch gave them a pretty hard hit."

"They'll be fine. I wouldn't worry too much about them." Misty replied, wrapping her cloak about her wet form. It was raining steadily outside, and the thunder sent vibrations through the ground. "Ash can heal, as far as I know. No true damage will have been done."

There was a cry that erupted from the silence. Lance eyed the dark hole that was the forest outside, and let his Dratini out. It squealed, finally out of its confining space after so long. "I need you to go out there to see what is stalking about," the Dragon Master said, as the small pokemon slithered out of the tree.

There was silence, as they waited for several minutes before the dragon returned. A red lizard-like pokemon followed it in, looking thoroughly miserable and sick. Paran gasped, scooping up the newcomer. "A charmander!"

Whimpering, the fire-type cuddled down in her lap, its tail waving slightly as the flame flickered weakly. "Why don't you keep him?" Misty asked, watching as Paran tended to the battered creature, "He is a fire-type, after all."

"Hm, I'd suppose so. How would you like that? To stay with me?" she said, as Charmander tilted his head and looked at her. Lance snickered, leaned back against the side of the hollow.

"It'd be a good idea if we would get some rest. We're going to have our hands full combing this forest tomorrow."

- - -

"Ugh…ow." Ash moaned, the headache worsening. He slitted his eyes open, reaching with his senses to find any sign of danger and picking nothing up. He looked about easily then, the dark seeming like nothing to his night-viewing eyes. There was a sigh from the warm weight that was on his chest, the sound awakening him entirely. "Hm."

Tilting his head, Ash peered at the young woman that was sleeping soundly - oblivious to the fact that her pillow was her living and breathing companion - with her hand curled around his arm and her head rested on his chest. There was a squawk above them, bringing his attention to the sky.

The majestic ice bird stood over them, worry in her watery eyes, and her wings spread out to create a shield from the rain. Ash unclipped his cloak and pulled it off, letting it settle over both him and May to keep off some of the cold. His eyes widened slightly, when she snuggled in closer, mumbling under her breath.

"Where are we? That…" May forced her eyes open. Ash shushed her, not wishing to alert any surrounding enemies to their presence. With a quiet motion to Fiona, then to May, he waited for her to scoot over before sitting up. He choked, his vision spinning from the abrupt movement, and shook his head to clear it.

"Are you alright?" he asked in a whisper, getting a nod in response. There was another squawk, and they looked up at the Legendary as she moved to the side, revealing the dark sky. There was an orange form flying from the distance, wings flapping against the rain. "Hey, that's Dragonite!"

Dragonite dove, its wings back to streamline itself as it twirled past the trees, coming to a landing behind the ice bird with a heavy thud. "Ash, May!"

The red-haired Water Master jumped down from the dragon's back, her dress flowing around her legs as she hit the ground at a run. "Are you alright?" Paran asked, coming up behind Misty.

"I believe we are," the Shadow Master replied, looking at them from his crouched position on the ground. He forced himself up to walk about, testing for any injuries he hadn't seen or felt already, and nodded approvingly. Happy with the results, he put a hand out to help May up.

"There should be a cave up ahead, if what I saw was right," Lance said, as May eyed Ash warily before taking the offered hand and swinging herself onto her feet. "If we go there, you can rest up without being out in the rain to get soaked."

"Agreed." May returned her articuno, quietly thanking the pokemon for acting as sentinel. Ash took the small mouse pokemon that was curled up at his feet into his arms, frowning, before following them in the direction of the cave.

"May," he hissed, his eyes darting from person to person as he watched to see if any of them made any indication of listening to him. The brunette turned her head to look at him, her eyes showing her curiosity. Ash took an uneasy breath.

"Not a word about that to anyone." She continued to look at him, her eyes clouding over in confusion, before a dawning look came onto her face. Ash went back to his own thoughts when May nodded her agreement, not daring to comment on the interesting shade of pink she had turned.

- - -

Misty sat quietly, her back against the cold stone of the cavern wall, as she looked around. With the exception of her, the entire group was asleep, resting for the upcoming battle that was looming ahead. She turned her blue eyes to watch the Shadow Master; his breathing was slow, and for the most part he looked only slightly relaxed, as if he couldn't let himself actually fully become as vulnerable as sleep would make him. _Such a sad thing..._ she thought.

The only sign within either eye or ear shot that several hours before it had rained was the dripping of water droplets from the leaves of the trees and the roof of the cave. _Same Element...same person. And it happened right under our noses and we didn't even notice. I wonder what is in him..._ "Fire...it's like fire, not meant to be played with." she said softly to herself, "And yet, they do anyway."

"Hmmm. Whassat?" Misty regarded the man, as he blinked the sleepiness that was in his eyes away and stretched out. She smiled slightly.

"Oh, it's nothing. I was just thinking out loud is all." Ash's nod was slow and thoughtful, and he rolled over onto his stomach to be able to look at her without causing a crick in his neck.

"About what?" The question brought out a small giggle; some things never did change.

"About the Tower." Misty admitted, as Ash narrowed his eyes, "and what happened with Sabrina, and you, May, and….."

"And Mazin?" he asked, getting a nod from the woman. Ash watched her carefully, before smiling. "Quite depressing to think about, really."

- - -

The air was cool, as they walked through the forested area. From through the trees they could see the top of a tower looming overhead, the sky beyond a dark, swirling blue-purple. Ash pulled his cloak tighter around him, as they came up to the clearing the building was situated in, and stared up at the multiple windows and the smooth sides of the tower. It still glistened in the dull light from the water that has covered the stone.

"Who's in this one?" Ash asked, his eyes serious. He looked at Lance from over his shoulder. The Dragon Master returned his chosen pokemon to her poke ball, and frowned.

"It's Agatha. She was in the Elite Four before…" Misty took a deep breath, the gentle breeze blowing her hair back in red waves, as her eyes turned worried.

"How are you going to fight her? Ash? She can use ghost attacks?" she asked. With a small smile, he absentmindedly brushed the dark strands of hair away from his eyes.

"I can just fight fire with fire. We all know what she will most likely try to do." They started walking toward the tower. "She'll try to break into my mind and break me from the inside, out. If she does, that's when I can get a chance to get at her."

Ash pushed the large wooden doors open, applying all his weight to do so. "Are any of you going to come with? I can go in on my own if you all want to stay out here." Misty and Lance shook their heads.

"Someone needs to watch guard." Paran said, "So we can stay out here and do that."

"I'll come with you. You'll need someone there in case something goes wrong." Ash spun to look into the glowing, determined eyes of his companion. May tilted her head, her red-tinged lips pursed tightly and tensely. Running a hand through his hair, Ash nodded. Without a second glance, he slipped into the dark entrance of the tower, May quick on his heels.

The door slammed shut with a loud thud behind them.

- - -

Winding higher and higher up, the dark staircase continued on as time passed by. The tower was quiet – abnormally so, in Ash's opinion, considering it was the Second Gate – and the only sounds were the bare tapping of their boots and their hushed breathing.

With a shake of his head, his hood fell back to reveal his face. "It's too silent in here…" he commented, "Something is going to blow…we should have seen or heard someone by now."

Pikachu let out a small whimper from May's shoulder, as they came up to the final landing of the tower. The single door was unlocked, and the Shadow Master looked curiously at it with the Ice Master. "This is it?" she asked, getting a nod in response as he put a hand to the door.

"Certainly is." He carefully opened the groaning door, and peeked around as they entered the dim room. Ash felt his vision shift to accommodate the different lighting, as May stepped up beside him with his pokemon. There was a stifling silence in the room, the two Masters looking about for any sign of human or pokemon. They blinked, when a voice started talking from an invisible source:

"_Oh soldier of darkness, please take heed._

_You are not what you believe you are._

_On suffering, does Shadow feed._

_It causes a never-ending spar._

_You are he, and he is you._

_Time goes by in a darkening blur,_

_as Shadow takes over, and chaos ensues,_

_Never relent, never relax, for his mission steadily becomes easier._

_Only the mistress of the sun can erase the anger._

_Only the lady of winter can ease the pain._

_The brightness of day's the purest of cures._

_The chill of the snow's agony's chain._"

"Agatha!" he snapped, scowling, as the ancient woman faded into view. The lights blared light, as she waved a hand to turn them on all the way. The pair could see the room was in shades of gray and white, the colors dull and gloomy.

"Hello, young Ashura." Agatha said in greeting, "It has been awhile."

"Don't hello me, witch. You know as well as I do why I have bothered coming here." Her old eyes glittering dangerously, she looked up at the grim Shadow Master, and nodded.

"For a fight. Beware, young one, killing me will only keep my Gate from opening farther then it is. The other two will open all the faster though. You will have no time to waste!" the psychic replied, putting her hands together in front of her face. Glancing around, Agatha started a short chant, "Three in one, bound together! Give me the power of manipulation!"

Around the three Masters, the room went dark.

- - -

Groaning, May sat up rubbing her head. She felt slightly dizzy from whatever had happened, and she looked around blindly. The darkness that surrounded from all sides seemed to be never ending and certainly not friendly. She noticed she was also the only one there. "Ash?" she whispered, keeping her voice down to keep from alerting any possible enemies of her presence.

When there was no reply, she stood up, and tapped her foot. Even if she couldn't see it, there was a very solid floor underfoot. Slowly, she trudged forward, her eyes darting from side to side, looking for a way out of her blind state. "Flash."

There was a brilliant flash of light that filled area, and it faded back into the inky black of wherever it was she was. The momentary light had shown her she was in a corridor of sorts, or a tunnel. Sighing, she rubbed her eyes; she didn't like being unable to see, and having to depend on touch and hearing to guide her. There was a scream that pierced the air.

Alarmed, May followed the direction the sound came from, hoping above all else that it led to where Ash was at – or even Agatha would be preferable to her current situation. As she felt the area around her expand, she saw that it wasn't as dark as the previous tunnel. There was just enough light to be able to see the two combatants across the room from her. Looking around, May felt herself pale. _Wait a moment…no._ she though, frowning in thought, _That isn't two..there're three others here._

The third form was on the floor, quite obviously unconscious. The two standing figures stood across from each other, watching each other, not moving even to breath. _Agatha…Ash…but who…wait._ Looking down on the third figure, she felt like her stomach was about to jump out of her throat. "Ash!"

Getting down next to him, she pulled the still man up into a sitting position against her, and gently opened one closed eyelid. The gold eye was dull, glassy, and unseeing. May looked up at the two, at the cloaked male that was the exact duplicate of the one she was holding. "Mazin…no."

They looked over at her – one with fear shining in her eyes, while the other looked almost bored as he glanced around. May felt her stomach lurch, as Mazin scowled at the two women. "How dare you trespass in here." he said, the voice that was so much the same as Ashura's filled with spite, "You do not understand what you could find in here, what you could unleash!"

Mazin's red eyes glowed, not even hampered by the suffocating darkness that surrounded them. May watched, as he turned back to Agatha, looking ready to strike at any minute. Time itself seemed to stop, as he froze in place, and jerked his head to look in her direction. He cursed under his breath, and vanished, leaving the two women to blink and stare at each other.

Ash squirmed, mumbling inaudibly, as he rose back to consciousness.

- - -

Eyes finally open, the only thing Ash could see was total darkness, until he adjusted to it. "Ash?" May asked, "Are you alright?"

"I've been better." Getting to his feet, Ash whistled, the loud, clear note sounding magnified. From the blinding black that surrounding them, the small form of Pikachu streaked over, jumping into the air. "Shadow Blade."

"Pika!" May winced, watching the Shadow Pokemon change from creature to weapon, the transition looking painful to her. Agatha shrieked, stepping backwards to get away from Ash.

"You shall not come closer!" she screamed, starting a chant to conjure a barrier to surround herself. Ash stalked toward her, blade held in the defensive position rather then offensive, his eyes narrowed menacingly.

"Which would you rather, me or Mazin?" Ash didn't like the thought of having to give over control to his out of control twin, but would had it meant getting rid of Agatha. The old woman clearly preferred the former over the latter.

"I am more powerful then Sabrina was!" she warned, silently sending out a mental attack. Ash faltered, bending at the waist when he felt the onslaught; it beat at his mind, pulling at him.

"You can't let her get to you!" May called, standing. Visibly shaken, Ash shuddered, and ran forward, moving the Shadow Blade into position to strike.

"Do not," Agatha said, strengthening the barrier. Ash scowled. _I need to get through it._

With a burst of power, he thrust the sword forward, shattering the glass-like barrier, defeating it as it fought against the weapon. "Thanks for the advice, you old hag," Ash snarled, as the woman turned and fled.

With a scream of rage, he let his chosen Shadow Blade fly, the blade embedding into the ancient Master's back. She let out a gurgle, a whimper, and fell. Pulling it out, Ash flicked the blood off with a twitch of his wrist.

There was a loud groan and creaks, as the ground beneath them started breaking apart. May ran toward him, tripping as her feet hit the growing holes and cracks. "Hang on!" he said, rushing to get a hold of her arm, feeling the area around them falling apart as they stood.

The floor fell apart, dropping them through.

- - -

A/N: Alright, in the first part, I actually never had Ash seething about being clung to. XD It was like he had no actual reaction or thought on it. I decided to change that, since I figured he probably wouldn't be too happy.

I also took out a small part of the chapter. When Dratini goes out to get Charmander, originally there was also a thing about it finding Ash's pokedex and Misty listening to it give Ash's name and element. As I thought it was actually rather trivial a detail, and not really all that important to any of the characters and didn't help the plot, I took it out. It didn't make sense anyway, since it was never mentioned after that.

I added to the scene when Misty, Lance, and Paran find Ash and May again. Originally it was that they talked, then Lance mentioned the cave, and they left; rather then doing just that, I included Ash telling May, in nice terms, that he'd kill her if she told anyone what happened...without saying he'd kill her. XD

I also added to the scene when Agatha first appeared. While she did say...maybe two lines of that poem, I extended and rewrote it into what you see here.


	10. Chapter Ten: The Battle of Fuschia City

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Pokemon, its characters, locations, or names. All of them, with the exception of the original characters, belong to Nintendo

Credits: The original fan fiction Shadow League was based off, Pokemon Master, was written by Acey. I retrieved permission before starting this the first time. Kiall and Elizabeth belong to me. "Paran" is the property of Elemental Sorceress, who had requested that I include her in my fan fiction.

A/N: Eh...not much to say. XD;; Nothing new.

Warnings: The pairing in this is RivalSibling. This fan fiction has a lot of violence and gore, not to mention some language, and implied rape/sex. Not for kids, that's for sure.

- - -

- Chapter 10: The Battle of Fuschia City -

Crouching in one of the numerous trees, the white-cloaked figure peered through the leaves curiously, watching the small group on the trail below. Her red lips turned down in a frown as they passed her branch, seemingly not noticing the presence above them. That worried and surprised her greatly, as the Shadow Master had the skill of being able to sense not only Pokemon, but people, when he was alert and watchful; which, of course, was most likely the case after the event at the second tower.

"Be careful, love." she said quietly, more to the air then to the actual person, "Ash...my dearest Ashura. The time when you must become Bonded is growing closer, and with it Mazin is growing more powerful. Watch yourself."

Closing her green eyes, Elizabeth teleported, leaving the tree empty once again.

- - -

The sun was out, shining dimly in the sky that was still littered with clouds from the past showers, many of the fluffy things not entirely gone. Ash lead the group, his steps slow and leisurely rather then his normal quick stride; it was too nice out to rush. May and Lance followed directly behind, with Paran and Misty pulling up at the rear of the group.

He pulled his hood back to fall against his shoulder blades, shaking his head to free his hair from his cloak. Ash nearly yelped when May linked her arm through his, startling the concentrating man from his inner thoughts. He scowled, roughly pulling away. "Do you mind?" he asked.

Misty and Paran snickered, hiding their grins as May carefully slithered back to his side, latching on once again, smiling innocently. Ash sighed, a muscle twitching in the corner of his mouth as he resisted the smile that was trying to form, and shoved her over.

May wasn't that willing to give up. Instead of her being the only one hitting the ground, she grabbed hold of his arm and pulled Ash with, grinning evilly. "What the _hell_ is wrong with you?" The question was asked with a choked voice, as Ash tried to keep from laughing.

"Wait up for them," Lance said quietly, halting the remaining standing Masters. They looked around, waiting for the two giggling and snickering forms to rise so they could continue for several minutes. Collectively, they shrugged when it became apparent that that wouldn't be occurring for awhile, as the Shadow and Ice Masters laid in a heap.

"I believe we will be having to set up camp here," Paran remarked, amusement in her voice. Misty crossed her arms across her chest, shaking her head.

"I am inclined to agree," she admitted, as Lance sighed and started setting up the camp for the night.

"You all do realize this is costing us precious time? You two need to grow up!" Lance snapped, getting a swatting from the redhead.

"Shush." Misty said, smiling and helping with getting what they needed for dinner out, "Let'em have their fun. I don't think I'd ever heard Ash laugh so much, not since we were in the League at least."

"Oh, yes. I remember him back then. Always so..._depressed_, or something. Never smiling or laughing, always scowling or gloomy. It was like his element was personified." Paran shivered at the thought. "Except when it came to Elizabeth. She had something no one else did, though even she looked like she had trouble getting a smile out of Ash."

"The Light Mistress? Well, yes, she did." the Water Master replied, quickly glancing over at Ash and May, then going back to her work, "She had the same problems. The freakishly powerful Element that was wanting to take over, the need to harness it before it could overtake her...no one but her could understand what it was like, and wouldn't considering him a monster for being of the Shadow Element."

"Quiet, both of you." Lance's quick order brought about silence, the two women turning to stare at him curiously. "Listen."

Paran frowned, looking about for some sign of what she was listening for. "What exactly do I need to look for? I don't hear anything."

"That's my point," he said, matching her expression, "there is nothing. Don't you consider that odd, considering just a moment ago Ash and May where just screwing around over there?"

Lance indicated the area the pair had been at, and did a double take; they were gone. Misty threw her arms up in the air in exasperation, and stood. A little searching showed that the pair had just gotten tangled in the thickets, hidden from their view. "They're fine," she replied, returning to the camp, "just a little wound up is all."

- - -

"It's a city," Misty said, peering out around one of the trees at the tall stone walls. They had gotten back on track the next morning, and found themselves standing in the shade of the trees. It was obviously a high security town in front of them; there were several guards stalking atop the walls and gate, weapons in hand and looking about warily.

"We should try to get in, so we can restock all of our supplies before going on to the next tower," Lance suggested, following her gaze to the wooden doors that were firmly closed, and most likely locked. Ash shook his head, staying just a few steps away from the group; he didn't like the idea, unlike the others, all of which seemed to agree that is was best.

"No, I don't think..." Ash paused when they all looked at him curiously, looking for an answer from him, before he just shrugged helplessly. May took a step toward him. He frowned. "Just go."

As they edged out of the forest, he pulled his hood up to cover his hair and face; it didn't seem like a bright idea to walk about uncovered, where anyone could recognize him. His lips quirked at the irony of the thought; his cloak alone was enough to draw attention, and yet he was hoping it would sway the guards from paying any thought to him.

"Halt!" the main guard called, leaning over to peer down at them from atop the wall. "We are not to let anyone in before getting their identities!"

"A precaution against the League's attacks?" Paran yelled up at him, craning her neck so that she could see who was addressing them, "Why would they send a group of five to ambush your city?"

At the mention of the League, Ash stepped behind May, standing with his back straight – which, unfortunately, tended to give him more of an intimidating look – staring down at the ground. "We understand your logic, madam." the man replied, his voice apologetic, "But the law is law, and we must enforce it."

As he finished, the giant door creaked as they were opened, letting a woman step out. She was dressed in an uniform that was identical to the guards', her hair up in a ponytail to keep it out of her way while she was on duty. "If you would please introduce yourselves?" she requested, stepping up to Lance and Misty.

"This is Mistaria, and I'm Lance. We're part of the Rebellion, as I'm sure you've heard of it?" the Dragon Master said, his voice steady and calm. The woman nodded in approval, recognizing the names easily, and moved on to the second group – May and Paran.

"I'm Paran, ma'am. I had used to be in the League until just awhile ago. They all can attest to my resignation...or my turning traitor on it, whichever you would prefer." The Fire Master moved to the side, as the female guard rose an eyebrow questioningly. May glanced back at Ash, who had once again moved back, before answering.

"I would be Marian, an Ice Master." The woman nodded, uncertainty in her eyes, but she moved up, finally arriving in front of Ash. He shifted uncomfortably as she regarded him suspiciously.

"And you, sir?" she asked. Ash moved back another step, his jaw clenched as he tried not to look at the woman; she was already trying to peer into the hood of his cloak, wanting to see who she was talking to.

"Ash?" May said, grabbing not only his, but the woman's attention. She spun around to look between the two Masters, her eyes widening steadily.

"You are...you are Ashura!" she hollered, jumping back. Her shouts, being heard by the guards lining the wall top, drew their attention immediately. The man that had originally been talking to them sprang, doing a flip in the air to land near his comrade, face contorted in rage.

"The Shadow Assassin dared to return here?" he asked, advancing on Ash. The Shadow Master pulled his hood back to stare at the soldier with wide and unthreatening eyes. He could feel the anger coming off of the stalking man. "The man that slew my family in cold blood, has now returned to Fuschia City, to the city where he caused mass hysteria and fear! How dare you!"

Ash put his hands up, pulling his cloak up at the same time to show that he had no weapons. Pikachu peered up from between his feet, head tilted cutely. "That was when I was a pawn of the League's." the rueful Master said, the memories clear in his mind. He could remember the bloodshed he had caused that night; the families that where torn apart, slain with the sharp edge of the Shadow Blade. "I do not wish to fight you, or anyone else here."

Looking past the two guards, he could see his friends, staring in amazement at them, and higher up at the sentinels; their weapons were all trained on him, ready to fire or throw if he made a wrong move. Laughing bitterly, the male went into an offensive stance. "It's too late for you, assassin. You can never be rid of the title, or of the blood that stains your hands!"

Quickly dodging to the side, Ash had to swing an arm out to block the punch that was aimed at his face. "I am sorry that you must suffer, but that is in the past! Nothing is going to change that!" he yelled, hastily getting into a defensive position, his arms crossed in front of his face to stop the blows, "I don't mean any harm-"

"You are probably here to finish what you had started that night!" Lance finally intervened, along with the female guard; they ducked away from the rest of the group, and took to getting between the two men.

"If that was the case, do you believe anyone in the Rebellion would honestly be with him? I promise you, sir, none of us mean to hurt anyone here!" Lance said, the red-faced guard panting as he stared. He rubbed his knuckles as the female shook her head.

"This is unbecoming of a guard of Fuschia City! If they say they are here as friends, I believe them!" She crossed her arms, and scowled at him. "Get back to your post."

Gaping like a fish out of water, the guard stared between his companion, Lance, and Ash. Muttering curses under his breath, he stomped back toward the gate, passing Misty on the way, and shooting them a nasty glare. With a sigh, she turned to look at them all. "I really am sorry about this." she said, "That was...inappropriate, at best."

"I..." Ash started, getting a gesture to quiet down from the guard. She smiled slightly.

"I must also apologize for my outburst. I was a small girl when...that...happened, but it stands out clearly. Seeing you was just such a shock, that...you know." Sheepishly, she looked away, before clapping her hands together. "It appears to me that all of you should be allowed in, and that includes you, Shadow Master."

"I rather not cause a problem-" Once again Ash was silenced, his statement cut off, but that time by May.

"You need to accept people's kindness more." the Ice Master remarked, "Thank you, Miss...?"

"Katrina." The guard smiled widely. "And if any of the civilians cause a ruckus, just tell them they will be seeing me."

- - -

Ash stared at the ceiling, mouth drawn into a thin line. The confrontation at the front gates had been a bitter reminder of all that he had done, and of all of the innocent people he had hurt in the name of the League; all of it done in a cold, heartless manner, one that made Mazin seem like a kind person.

He sighed, closing his eyes. At the time, he had not only been a Master in training, but an advanced assassin; though the training was long over, he was still a killer. Ash sat up, looking around the room that had been given to him to rest in, and frowned. If there was one thing that couldn't change, it was the name that had been carved those years ago.

Just as he was about to rise to go out, the door flung open and a panicked Misty looked at him from the outside hallway. "We need your help out here," she said, her blue eyes wide.

With a snap of his fingers and some mental prodding, Pikachu was awakened, and the trio set off toward the outer wall. Unsurprising to both, was that it was a war zone; the guards atop the wall were firing their weapons, unleashing their Pokemon for back-up. The civilians were all armed also, at least with the men; the children were being led to the center of town by several woman, though most of them stayed to fight.

"The League," Ash commented flatly, as his pokemon subtly changed from creature to weapon with a silent order. Many of the people surrounding them looked at him warily, some of them remembering the weapon as if it had only been the day before when they had been on the wrong end of it. Ignoring the glances, he took to the staircase leading to the wall top, holding the sword at his side.

The guards looked more then relieved to see help arriving, regardless of who it was. From so high up, Ash could see the horde that they were facing, his eyes narrowing. All of the Masters and Trainers were in formation, marching on the city and flooding the area around the front gate. Several of them started the act of trying to scale the wall, throwing out attacks when they could get one in.

With a scowl, Ash spun the Shadow Blade once, letting the blade slide down in front of him, and it sent out an energy blade, which flew down and struck several of the approaching Masters. They shrieked in pain, falling over and taking others down with them. The men on either side of him peered at the blade, then at him, with a mixture of awe and admiration.

When the sounds of battle started on the inner side of the wall, Ash turned to look down; Masters and Trainers alike were pouring into the city, weapons out and swinging, Pokemon being unleashed. "They're going to be swamped if we don't stop more from getting in!" one of the commanding officers yelled.

Ash closed his eyes, taking a slow, deep breath as a tingling power started forming. Straightening the Shadow Blade so that it was parallel to the ground, he let it unleash the energy. Like a translucent mist, it fell over the army closest to the gates and wall, turning invisible before any of the intruders could take notice.

With a grim smile, he hopped over the side, going into a roll when he hit the ground to take some of the impact. As he rose to his feet, Ash could hear wails from the other side; the League's men were screaming in rage, temporally blinded by the dark energy.

Looking about, he took stock of who was battling what; Lance was taking on a group of Electric trainers, Paran had a varied number of the trainers around her, and May was fighting against two Masters. There was no sign of Misty anywhere. Just as he was about to go join one of them, he felt a sting in his side as a club was swung and struck him.

Tripping to the side, Ash clutched at his throbbing wound, the skin most likely turning blue and purple under his shirt. Bringing the Shadow Blade around to meet the second attack, he saw the woman that had charged at him; she appeared to be a Trainer, wearing the uniform of the League, and held the wooden club with ease. Ash frowned, turning when he heard a struggling battle cry, and his gold eyes widened. "I have no time for you!" he snapped, flipping the blade so that he was holding it in the right position for a diagonal slash, putting all his force behind it.

Gurgling, blood seeping out of her open mouth, the Trainer fell back, her wounds glistening bright red. Without a second glance, Ash spun around and ran to join in on the battles, letting Pikachu return to normal from the Shadow Blade.

- - -

"Arrgg!" The Grass Master screeched, reeling around as the slash across her tanned cheek bled exceedingly, stinging from the cold blade. May jumped backwards, out of her range of attack, clutching onto the ice dagger tightly, the weapon not even hurting her sensitive flesh.

Coming to his comrades defense, the Fire Master sent a blast of fire from his hands, lashing out at the Ice Mistress. May ducked down, as an unexpected voice called out. "Electric Shield!"

In front of her, a wall of black electricity suddenly appeared, blocking the Fire attack from meeting its mark. The Flamethrower merely hit the shield, and disintegrated into the air, leaving no trace of ever being done. The League Master growled angrily. "Ash!" May said, as the Shadow Master stepped up beside her, his Pokemon balancing on his shoulder, "What are you doing? I thought you were going to stand watch on the wall!"

"I was until I saw how outnumbered you all are. Two against one isn't very fair," he remarked, as she raised an eyebrow. If not for the fact that Lance and Paran were outnumbered far worse then she was, May could have seen the logic in the statement.

"The last time I looked, a few of the others are going up against three, four, and more trainers at one time. This lot hardly constitutes being outnumbered compared to that."

"There is a major difference between Trainers and Masters, May." Ash dodged to the side when their two opponents threw out new attacks, shattering the shield into small glass-like pieces, which floated in the air for several seconds until they dissipated. A vine flew at them, its green leaves whipping about.

Ash threw an arm out, taking the stinging in stride as the whip wrapped tightly around him, the leaves sharp against his skin. The Master's confident smirk vanished, as he smiled. He pulled back, the muscles in both his shoulder and arm straining as the Grass Master fell forward, struggling against the strength of the vine.

Instead, she was dragged across the ground, getting a mouthful of dirt in the meanwhile. She rolled over, ready to hop up from her back and get back in the battle, until the Shadow Master carefully tilted her chin back with the point of his boot, pressing gently on her windpipe. "Give me a reason to, and I will not hesitate to kill you," he said casually, his voice both threatening and calm at the same time.

He peeked over to find his Pikachu fighting off a stray Pokemon, protecting the two Masters from a back attack. The Grass Master made a soft sound in her throat, trying to create words, but only managed a weak "Uh, uh, uh..."

"Very good." Ash turned his foot and stepped down, her neck snapped back as it broke under the pressure. She was barely able to get out a strangled cry before she was officially dead, eyes rolled up into her head. Backing away from the corpse, Ash turned to see how May was doing; it appeared as if he had taken on the wrong Master, as she was left to fight against the Fire Master. _Ice is weak against Fire...hm. Idiot._

With a laugh, the Master swept a leg out to trip up the brunette, his lips turned in a wicked smile. "Hmm, mmm, mmm, a little delicate to be roughing it, ain't you?" he said, eyes blazing, "Perhaps when I have you at my mercy, we can have ourselves a little fun?"

The cocky, arrogant voice rose several octaves as pain erupted all through his lower regions, taking a very solid, very powerful kick from behind. He fell forward, groaning, clutching at himself as Ash stared down, his face contorted in unmistakable rage. The Shadow Master's boots were sparking with the familiar dark electricity.

May looked at him, at the grim expression and the glowing gold eyes, and the angry stance; the Fire Master stood no chance. Just the presence of the standing Master was intimidating, the oncoming darkness of night seeming even darker then it really was. "I would reconsider that," Ash said, his voice dangerously low.

Painfully, the other man rolled over to look at him with bulging eyes. With a silent order, Pikachu shifted into the Shadow Blade, the hilt being taken by the peeved Master. "What do you say?" he asked, getting down on one knee and pressing the sharp edge of the sword to the helpless man's throat, "At the moment I would just love to see you suffer the fate that scum like you deserve, but...perhaps I'll let you decide?"

Carefully, Ash pulled the blade across, letting the ridged edge just barely catch the skin and pull. "Don't! Ash, don't hurt him! He can't even defend himself!" May cried out, grabbing hold of his arm to stop the blade's movement.

With a scowl, he pulled back, taking the sword away from the sniffling Master's neck. When Ash looked up at her, his expression had actually softened, his still-young features calm again. Standing, he smiled passively, and discreetly shoved the Shadow Blade down into the hurting man's abdomen. May gave him a disapproving look, and Ash shrugged helplessly. "I've not exactly known for being kind," he said, savoring the screams of agony that had suddenly filled the air, "especially when it came to people like this."

"People in the League, or people that consider beating the pulp out of then raping others?" May asked, getting a sly smile out of Ash. She had a feeling she knew the answer that would be forthcoming, before he even said it.

"Oh, a little of both, I would think..." the Shadow Master mused, as the remaining League ran, abandoning their downed friends and companions. He looked about, at the slightly ruffled civilians, and his own group. A sharp pain in his midsection was a vivid reminder of the shots he had taken earlier, and he winced. "I also think this would be a good time to rest before we move on."

- - -

A/N: Surprising, not much was really changed in this chapter. All I did was made the fighting scenes a lot more action-packed then before, and that was about it.


	11. Chapter Eleven: Master to Mistress

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Pokemon, its characters, locations, or names. All of them, with the exception of the original characters, belong to Nintendo

Credits: The original fanfiction Shadow League was based off, Pokemon Master, was written by Acey. I retrieved permission before starting this the first time. "Paran" is the property of Elemental Sorceress, who had requested that I include her in my fanfiction.

- - -

**Chapter 11: Master to Mistress**

Wincing, Ash stayed silent as May gently applied the cream ointment, rubbing it into the cuts and the bruise that had blossomed on his side. He knew it would only be a day or two before both were gone anyway, but using the medicine made the process even quicker. Pikachu watched them, small blue eyes questioning.

"Thank you," he said quietly, shaking his head to clear the fog that seemed to have covered his mind. May nodded, continuing the constant motion of up-down-around on the dark-haired man's shoulders, every once in a while using her knuckles and nails to get the kinks out of the muscles.

When he tilted his head back, a soft moan escaping, Ash jumped, his eyes widening. He blinked, noting the subtle differences there were in his senses, such as how sensitized Touch had become. What worried him wasn't that though; it was the fact he felt like_ jumping_ someone, but whether it was for bloodshed or something else was hard to tell.

Pointedly looking away, Ash jerked away and went into the bathroom, slamming and locking the door behind himself, ignoring the confused look May had given him. Staring into the mirror, he bit his lip, a tremor running through him; his eyes were flecked with red, the gold taking on the tint of it.

"No...no. Not this," Ash said, as there was knocking at the locked door.

"Ash, what's going on? Open the door!" He shook his head, trying to block out May's worried voice, and sank to the floor. _Mazin...what are you doing to me?_

He closed his eyes as he felt the rush of blood, blushing. Ash felt warm, and uncomfortably aware of his doubles influence. Quickly getting against the wall, he curled into a ball. "May, stay away from me!" he cried, painfully remembering what had nearly occurred in Sabrina's tower...

Ash was bent on making sure it didn't occur again, even if it meant suffering alone; he was used to it. There was silence, and he was able to lower his guard slightly, thinking the Ice Master had taken the order immediately; the hope was dashed though, when the doorknob turned blue and exploded, leaving a very much unlocked door. _No, May, no! You're setting yourself up for..._ The thought was too hurtful to even finish for Ash.

Hiding his face in his hands, leaning forward, Ash listened to his partner pokemon make a quiet, sad sound, as the door swung open and there were loud footsteps. "Ash-"

With a scowl, he stared up at May, gold and red eyes narrowed menacingly. It became apparent how unstable he was in the transition; Ash laughed bitterly, the sound neither completely his nor Mazin's. "You fool." he said quietly, "Look at my damned eyes! _I'm becoming Mazin!_"

Taken for surprise, May took a step back. Ash balled his hands into fists at his sides, and shivered. There was the acute sensation of being pulling in two directions at one time, and it caused an almost pained expression to appear on his face. "Go away!" he screamed, "You don't know what he is capable of! _Get the hell away from me!_"

Wondering if any of the people in the surrounding rooms could hear just how hysterical the Shadow Master was, May crouched down, her eyes narrowed. "No," she said quietly, ignoring the small nagging voice that yelled at her from inside that she had better run while she still could, "no. I cannot just leave you like this!"

By then, even Pikachu was showing signs of being affected. Little blue eyes were darkening, and changing to the evil red color, and the ears were flat against the skull, ready to attack at any moment. "No..."

The faint protest was never finished, as Ash's voice faltered, and his head drooped. There was silence for several minutes, as he sat shaking, grinding his teeth. "I won't give up! No, he _can't_-"

May warily slid over, staying on the opposite side of him as Pikachu was. As the small creature hissed at her, she gently lifted his head to look into the haunted eyes – most of the gold was gone, replaced by the color of the blood that had been spilled by so many people. _What did they do to you..._, she thought, wondering what exactly had caused such a drastic thing such as the demon to have formed, _ Surely it isn't as simple as how my brother explained it.._ "Stop fighting him, it'll be alright." May calmly whispered, getting a confused look in return, "It'll be better for the both of you if Mazin is allowed to see the sunlight every once in a while."

"But he is a-"

"Yes, yes," she sighed, impatiently, "I realize he is an evil demon who murders people for fun and have no qualms about doing whatever he feels like doing. All the more reason you should stop bottling him up all the time. It must be horribly frustrating, and just makes matters worse when he _does_ happen to get you taken over."

Ash looked at her sadly. "He'll hurt you-" he started to point out, getting cut off quickly by the Ice Master.

"Stop worrying about me, just worry about keeping yourself sane! Let it go; sit back, shut down, and let things go as they will. I'll be fine." May then thought about taking it back, but decided against it in favor of trying to save her friend from almost certain destruction from his own inner demon. Forcing a smile, she carefully smoothed back the dark, damp hair from his face. "Just let me take care of it. He won't harm a fly."

The worried, unsure look remained, as Ash stared with wide eyes. Deflated, he slumped over, closing them, and let out a long breath. "I'm sorry," he said, before the tone changed from the unusually defeated one, to the brutally cold one that was even more unusual.

_I hope I don't come to regret this_, May thought, dread closing in around her heart, as Pikachu jumped up to get into a more open spot, tail straight out and teeth bared. The dark form that was huddled next to her shifted, and the eyelids opened to reveal the red orbs. She frowned; the expression was the same as at the tower of Sabrina, yet something was different...

It clicked as he moved, putting a foot under himself to leap up, getting to a standing position. At the first tower, Mazin had been wanting simple _pleasure_ – which made May wonder about whether Ash actually did anything other then kill – while at that moment, it appeared that it might be blood that he was thirsting for.

With a cry, she jumped, grabbing the back of Ash's cloak to pull him back. "Where do you think _you're_ going?" she asked, as he spun around to glare at her.

"Stay out of my way if you know what is good for you," he replied disdainfully, frowning at May. Of all the ones that just _had_ to be left alone, it was that one! "The only reason I even bother sparing you the chance to feel the blade-"

"-Is because you were told to, and you are obeying the request. Isn't that right?" Snorting, he turned to return to the bedroom, his steps quick. With an uttered word, May saw the door out of the room glow for a moment, as the doorknob and jam turned cold and froze over, the locks frozen in place.

Just as Ash was about to turn about to turn to snap at the offending Master, entertaining the thought of running her through with the Shadow Blade regardless of orders that he didn't need to heed anyway, May slowly stepped across the remaining space, banishing the remaining doubt from her mind.

The look on his face – one of which May was willing to guess was not a common one for Mazin, nor Ashura – was priceless, as she side-stepped him and reached up to pull the peeved Shadow Master down to her level, and surprised him even further with a sudden kiss to the lips.

"Do as you like, Mazin, Ash...whoever the hell you are." May had to bite her lip to keep from laughing, when Ash pushed her back to stare incredulously at her. _Might as well have fun with this_, she thought. "Come on, don't tell me now you suddenly rather blood over that! Not even an assassin can go without the basic needs after awhile!"

When it was obvious all she was going to get was the same look as before, May threw her arms up. "I can't believe...you must be really experienced. I know it just by looking at you." A little ego boasting couldn't hurt any; Mazin probably already thought highly of himself anyway.

Calculatingly, Ash stared at her, head tilted to the side. Pulling out the small dagger that acted as a weapon when the Shadow Blade couldn't be used, he twisted it around, looking at the silver blade. "What do you want, woman? I don't have all day to stand around while you gape at me like a blasted fool," he snapped, carefully angling the blade and pricking his index finger, watching as drops of blood dripped down.

Licking the new cut, almost smiling in amusement at the look on May's face, he swung the dagger down, letting it hit the wall behind him with a loud thud. "That's..."

"Disgusting?" Ash finished for her, "It is nothing more then my own life force, my _blood._" With careful, deliberate steps, he neared the worried Ice Master. "Human blood...it can be a purer substance then any body of water could dream of being."

With a wicked grin, he launched himself forward, and both of them fell into the opposite wall. "You should be proud, it is not often that someone catches my attention without dieing soon after."

"What _kind_ of attention?" May asked, keeping her voice low and suggestive. Ash's expression turned to mildly interested. "I hope you aren't going to be disappointing now?"

Seeing that the bait was taken, she put her arms out and smiled. _Bring it on._

- - -

May twisted the edge of the pillowcase nervously, biting her lip. Most of her thoughts were confused, each one meshing into one another and causing mass chaos. She sat up, rubbing her eyes. _This is..._

Looking over at the still form next to her, she shook her head. She cracked a smile when Ash moved, curling into a ball. It appeared that he was actually _tranquil_, totally at ease and relaxed. The thought that it must be uncommon that the ever moving Shadow Master was able to sit back, not having to be wary of all that was going on around him, ran through May's mind.

Seeing the time – nearing five in the morning – she mulled over the possibility of carefully getting out of bed and letting him sleep longer, but remembering the group they were with and the questions that would be asked decided against it. Gently running a hand through her companions hair, pulling out the hair band that had barely stayed in, she bent over to speak to him.

"You have to wake up." May said quietly, not wanting to be struck from startling him, "It's morning."

Ash shifted, straightening out and stretching his long limbs, making a low 'hmmph' sound. Easing into a sitting position, he peeked at her sleepily. "Are you alright?" he asked, "I'm sorry, this isn't right-"

"I'm fine." Calmly, May grasped his hand. "It isn't like at Sabrina's tower, Ash. Stop thinking as if it is, it isn't." Sad gold eyes stared back at her.

"You still shouldn't have had to put yourself in danger to stop me." May nearly laughed; what had occurred that night hardly constituted as danger! Pointing out that it was she that had started the whole ordeal with Mazin, May watched the distressed man wilt, sighing.

"Don't worry about it. Your demon is happy, I should think _you_ should be, and I wasn't scarred or hurt in any way, so leave it. Water under the bridge?" Ash looked away, focusing on his napping pokemon, before nodding in agreement.

In stifling silence, they went about getting ready to head out, collecting articles of clothing and weapons, packing up for the road that was awaiting. Ash sat down on the edge of the bed, lacing up his boots so they would fit snugly. He turned to give May an awkward look when she gently pulled a brush through his hair.

"Need I ask?" he said, getting a smile in return. Some things were better off not being said.

- - -

"Alright, it's getting close to the time that you are supposed to get Bonded, but...well..." Lance said, making a face; it looked like something one would make when they think about something incredibly disturbing. Ash blinked.

"Well what?" Facing each other, they looked at the map of Kanto, frowning. "What's this about? I still don't like the idea."

"You need the Forbidden Crystal, except Kiall is trying to make it as difficult as possible for you to find it. He knows you need it, and is determined to keep you from getting to it." Ash rose an eyebrow, unsure whether to ask where the older man thought it was at or to let the subject drop before it went on too far; he decided on the former.

"And where is it exactly?" Ash asked, as Misty stepped up behind him, looking to see if they were ready to go. Lance glanced at the redhead, before smiling passively, and put his hands up.

"There is a school not far from here, that has a lab connected, among other things. He's had one of his staff take it in for hiding in there." The corner of his lips quirked. "Problem being, it's a girls-only school."

It took several seconds of Ash staring at him blankly for it to sink in. "What in hell does that mean?" he asked.

"That means you can't get in there, unless you plan on having a sex change sometime soon?" Lance replied, coughing to cover up the words 'sex change.' Ash glared at him, eyes narrowed angrily, as the three women glanced at each other. They grinned at him.

"Actually..." Paran started, "...Lance, that might not be such a bad idea after all." Ash and Lance froze, jerkily turning their heads to look at her. Blanching, the Shadow Master backed up, putting his hands up defensively.

"Hell no! You are not touching me!" They smiled evilly. "Eh...I should have known you three would end up hurting me eventually."

"What's your definition of 'hurt?'" May said, hands on her hips. She looked at Misty. "How much work would it take, do you think?"

"I'm unsure..." Misty replied, glancing at him, starting from the head down. Ash scowled.

"Do the lot of you not understand me? Am I talking in an alien language? No! Cease and desist! Forget it!"

"How'll you get the Crystal then?.." Misty started.

"...Yeah Ash, because you need it to get Bonded..." Paran continued. Ash sighed.

"Lance!" he cried, "Would you help me!?"

Putting his hand up in a sign of surrender, Lance shook his head. "I'm sorry, but you need that Crystal, and it isn't like we can just send one of the girls in."

Groaning, Ash rubbed a hand across his face, and looked at Pikachu. "I'm freaking doomed." he sighed, "Fine! If you do anything permanent, I swear to god I will make sure you are crippled for the rest of your lives."

"Ash, you look enough like a girl as is without us even doing anything to you. I don't think we'll need to do anything like that," May taunted, and he looked crossly at her.

"Don't even start."

- - -

"What to do...what to do..." Paran exchanged a glance with Misty, who smirked. His heart sank; it couldn't be good.

"Shall we do make-up? Yes?" Turning to regard him, they saw that Ash looked ready to kill the first creature that even looked at him strangely or in the wrong way.

"Blush? Lipstick?" the Fire Master suggested, as Misty pulled everything they needed out and set them down on the table next to her. "May, aren't you pretty good at this kind of thing? You should do it?"

"If I get torn to shreds, I'm blaming you." Taking the items, she pushed them out of the room, shutting the door. "Ash, stop pouting. This is for your own good you know."

He scowled as she start applying the reddish powder. "I'm a man, dammit!" he growled, and May slapped his arm. "Why can't you just go in and get it?"

"Because _I _don't have a death wish. You're the only one besides Elizabeth that can touch it without dying. Pucker." When Ash gave her a blank look, May rolled her eyes, and gently pressed her index finger and thumb against the corners of his mouth, applying the lipstick while she ignored the killing glare he was giving her. After fixing his eyes, she handed the fuming Master a mirror.

"Oh dear god." Ash stared into it, disbelief etched on his face. "Please tell me this will all wash off." May nodded, laughing when he sank down in his chair in relief.

- - -

"Hello, I shall be your fashion designer for this evening," Misty said, indicating the stack she had borrowed from Katrina and several other of the women; it had been no easy task trying to explain why she needed clothes that would fit someone that was six feet tall.

"Could we get on with my torture here? Preferably while I'm still young?" he suggested impatiently.

"If you'd cooperate, this would take less time. Try this on." Misty tossed an outfit at him, and pointed toward the folding wall that had been brought in for the occasion. Glowering at her, Ash stalked over, tossing his original clothes into a pile nearby and getting into the new ones. "Well, doesn't that look nice!"

"Try again Misty."

"Oh, fine!"

After nearly an hour of constant changes, Misty clapped, pleased with the work she had done that both of them could agree on, and an outfit that wouldn't hinder him any more then the others had; a black kimono, his normal boots, and his cloak.

"You realize I will kill someone for this," Ash said sourly, getting a laugh out of her. "This really isn't funny. This thing hurts."

"No one will be able to tell that it's you! I'm nearly fooled, and I know who you are and what you look like! The only thing that'd give you away is your voice...and that thing is called a girdle, Ash." Misty glanced at him, admiring how much they'd done. "Hm. Not bad. You really do look like a girl in almost every way, except for your height, anyway."

Ash shook his head. "This is just so wrong. I'm _not_ supposed to look like a girl," he complained, "and this is uncomfortable."

"Get over it," the redhead replied, waving a hand. "Paran, you're next!"

- - -

"Okay! They have done a good job so far, haven't they?" she asked, getting a glare from Ash. "Ah, yes...I think we'll have to work on that."

Pulling the hair band out, she ran a brush through his dark hair, humming quietly as she worked. "You are going to look so pretty when we are through with you!" she sang, grinning at him happily.

Ash's eyes widened at the statement, then narrowed to slits in irritation. She pulled her iron out, setting to the heavy work, swatting Ash when he made remarks about what she was doing.

- - -

Half an hour later, and several curses and a lot of swearing from Ash, and he was nearly ready to go retrieve the Forbidden Crystal. "You still have one thing wrong," Misty said.

Ash gaped at her. "What now?" he asked warily.

"Your voice." May replied, crossing her arms, "You need to work on your voice."

"How hard is that? Come on, it's just working the vocal cords differently." Clearing his throat, Ash took a breath before attempting the changes. "I should hope I can talk like a girl if I need to!"

His voice rose, the tone getting higher as he finished his statement. "Yes, that's it! We can go get it then!" Paran cheered, clapping her hands.

Lance arrived then, curious about the aftermath of the girls' work. "Wow, Ash, looking good," he said, grinning.

Ash scowled, pointedly sending a jolt of electricity at the Dragon Master. Lance's grin grew larger. "Hey now," he continued gently, "why don't we go..."

The smirk the Shadow Master acquired was almost invisible. "Oh, really, I would," Ash started in his higher voice, stepping up to be right in Lance's face, "but I really am a man, so that just would not be right of me!"

"I am so very sorry, sir! You just...look...so stunning!" Lance said, covering his eyes dramatically. He knew they were wasting time with foolishness, but the act was too much fun to let go. Their three female companions laughed. Ash grinned at them, deciding to add his own touch to the scene.

"Oh, maybe just this once..." he hummed, "Who cares?" Misty, Paran, and May's eyes went wide, their jaws dropping. Ash closed the few remaining inches between him and Lance, and it had appeared to the three woman as if he had kissed him on the lips; in all reality, it had been on the cheek. Catching on, Lance staggered back as if in shock.

"Why, sweetheart, I never knew that you cared so much!" Lance cried, laughing.

"Let's get married!" Ash suggested, jumping into Lance's arms, hugging him tightly. Misty shook her head, laughter overtaking her nearly, and waved her arms. "Enough? Aww...that was more fun then it should have been."

"And you thought acting the part would be a nightmare," May remarked, getting a half-hearted glare from him. When he turned away, she looked at Paran.

"Seems like he's not so irritated about being a 'girl,'" she whispered. May and Misty nodded.

"Good thing too. I don't want to have to travel with a killing machine, especially one that can electrocute me." The redhead smiled.


	12. Chapter Twelve: Fighting for the Crystal

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Pokemon, its characters, locations, or names. All of them, with the exception of the original characters, belong to Nintendo

Credits: The original fan fiction Shadow League was based off, Pokemon Master, was written by Acey. I retrieved permission before starting this the first time.

A/N: Oh, hey, yeah. I decided to stop going through to see what changed, since...well, it took more time doing that then anything else. . I'm sure no one read those anyway.

Anyway, I'm finally getting back in the swing of things, and I still have yet to edit my NaNo novel, though it'll probably be Feb when I get to that. I'm also considering rewriting League Team now, while I have a psychology book, but meh, we'll see.

Warnings: The pairing in this is RivalSibling. This fanfiction has a lot of violence and gore, not to mention some language, and implied rape/sex. Not for kids, that's for sure.

- - -

**Chapter 12: Fighting for the Crystal**

Ash stared at the building, shielding his eyes to look at the multiple floors that made up the school. Lance had left him several minutes previous, having decided to stay behind so he wouldn't be in the way; he wouldn't be allowed in anyway. "I do hope you're up to this," Misty said, frowning when she saw a few students wondering around the area, laughing amongst themselves.

He laughed. "Like, totally!" Ash replied, his voice squeaky, "As long as I don't have to use my element, everything will go fine...if I use it, they'll figure out who I really am and probably kill me."

"That reminded me of that one girl I used to know that would use 'like' whenever she talked," Paran giggled, getting a smile out of Ash.

"Blame Misty's sister, I took it from her." Pushing the glass front doors open, he smirked. "Won't this be fun..."

- - -

"Hello, welcome! You must be new students." the secretary said, smiling at them warmly, "What're your names?"

"I'm Misty, this is Paran, and that's May," the redhead replied, nodding to the respective Masters. Writing the names down, the woman quickly looked up at Ash.

"And what's your name?" she asked, and he mouthed silently, realizing they hadn't thought about making a new name for him. He cleared his throat.

"Well, I'm..."

"Nellie." May said, biting her lip, "His...her name is Nellie." They looked at her, a few of them with questioning expressions.

"Aha, Nellie!" Scribbling it down, the secretary made a face. "What was with that 'his'?"

"I was thinking of someone else," the brunette said quickly, covering up her mistake as best she could, ignoring the glare she was getting from Ash. When the secretary shrugged, clearly mulling the answer over, Ash leaned over, elbowing her.

"You nearly blew it, you idiot!" he hissed, "And you lot were worrying that I'd ruin the whole plan?" May shoved him away, scowling, when the secretary turned back to them.

"Who, exactly?" she asked, and the Ice Master sighed, looking at the Shadow Master. He was quietly admiring the glass statuette that sat on the counter, tracing the delicate lines that ran around it. She smiled.

"Nellie's brother," May replied, noticing that his eyes shifted, the subtle change barely perceptible. The secretary looked at her curiously. "You might know of him, actually. Probably heard about him at one time or another."

"Really? Someone famous?" Paran intervened then, seeing her chance to get in on the conversation.

"Oh yes," the Fire Master said, "of course. He's the Shadow Master." Ash froze, slowly turning his head to stare at them, bug eyed. The room went quiet; it became obvious that her statement had been heard by most if not all the students mulling around.

"You...don't mean _Ashura_, do you?" the woman asked. May looked at Ash, wondering if it could be any more obvious that he was struggling to keep his cover unblown, as he bit his lip nervously. She nodded, and a bunch of the girls squealed. "That is so cool! Could you get me his autograph? I love him!"

Ash eyed the groups warily. _Perhaps I should just make a run for it, and hope for the best_, he thought, when one of the taller students approached him. She looked to be about seventeen years old. "Hey, I'm Autumn," she said.

He gripped Pikachu tightly, getting an annoyed squeak from the creature. "Uh...hi?" he replied.

Autumn leaned against the counter, looking at him curiously. "So, Nellie..." she started, smiling slightly, "Is your brother as cute as everyone has been saying he is?" Ash squirmed uncomfortably, chewing on his lip again.

"I really don't know anything about that." Seeing that the situation was getting increasingly awkward for the dark-haired man, Misty put a hand on his shoulder.

"We must be going. Things to do, people to see," the Water Master hastily said, waving a hand casually, "You know how it is." Autumn blinked.

"I could show you around," she offered. May glanced at her thoughtfully, and nodded.

"Yes, that'd be nice. Thank you." She pulled Ash toward the staircase as Autumn took up the lead.

"Oh, hey! What Element are you Nell?" Autumn asked, climbing the steps. Ash screwed up his eyes, giving himself a mental kick before he gave her the answer that would blow the whole plan apart.

"Electric," he said, worrying the sleeve of his kimono, pulling at the cloth. "By chance, you've ever heard of something called the Forbidden Crystal?"

"Yes, of course, we all do." Pointing at the sign at the top of the stairs as they passed it, she looked at them. "It's kept up on the top floor, in the lab."

"Could we maybe go there?" Misty asked. She nodded.

- - -

"DAMMIT, not now!" The doors on all sides of them flew open, and several handfuls of League Trainers and Masters flooded out. "I should have known! It was too quiet up here for a school!"

"What're they doing here?" Paran asked, as the horde circled them. Misty shrugged, shrinking back when one made a grab for her. Autumn huddled in the middle, in the protection of the four Masters. Several girls ran out then, and down the stairs; they had been held captive until the group had arrived, apparently.

"Who cares why they're here!" Ash barked as the enemies attacked them. He dodged away from the rest, drawing several Trainers with him. Desperately, he let a shield of black electricity form around him, reflecting the numerous elemental attacks, as he fought off the physical ones.

He cursed loudly when he heard cloth ripping, and heard the telltale snap that told him that his disguise was utterly ruined. _This is pointless!_ he thought, letting his shield explode out to hurt the surrounding League minions, and ran. "Ash!" Misty called after him, frowning.

Autumn followed, escaping from the fighting.

- - -

Tossing his bag down, he rummaged through it hurriedly, pulling his normal clothes out. "Dammit, dammit, dammit, I'm going to kill them later." Peeling the kimono off and pulling his boots off, he dressed in his own outfit. "That's better."

"Nellie!" a voice called from the hallway. Ash looked up, alarm in his eyes, and dove to hide.

"No Autumn! Don't come in here!" he yelled. Ash slapped a hand against his mouth, groaning; he had used his normal voice, rather then his enhanced one. The teenager entered, a frown on her face.

"That doesn't sound like you, Nellie," she said, and he banged his head against the desk he was hiding behind. "Where are you?"

"That's because I'm not actually a girl! She never existed." Ash peered up over the top, rubbing his face with his cloak, trying to remove the make-up that had been applied earlier. "I'm-"

"Ashura!" Autumn finished for him, staring in awe at him. Forcing a smile, Ash stood, smoothing out the wrinkles. He sat down to pull his boots on, when she edged around to get a better look. "You really _are_ as cute as everyone says you are."

He paused, flushing in embarrassment. "I'll take that as a compliment, I think," he said, quickly putting his hair up into a ponytail after he made a half-hearted attempt at straightening it. "Ah, that's better."

"You're going to fight off those bad guys?" she asked, hugging him tightly, looking up.

"Well, I would...but I need to be out there to do so, really." Her cheeks flamed red. She moved away from him. Walking past her, he slipped out of the door quietly, his eyes glinting from the prospect of the oncoming battle.

- - -

Screams erupted amongst the League, as a wave of blue-black electrical energy washed over them, most of them falling over. Rolling onto their backs, they looked around hastily, looking for the source. "If you don't get up and leave now..." Ash started, glaring down at them menacingly.

The weaker ones of them scrambled up, running down the hall and the stairs, shouting and yelling; the idiots stared at him numbly, mouths hanging open, shuddering. "Go, Miltank!" a sudden voice called, and the cow pokemon appeared out of a flash of light.

"Seadra!" Misty ordered, releasing her sea-horse pokemon, "Water Gun attack!"

"Seeeaaa!" Shooting a powerful stream of water out of its mouth, the attack knocked the normal-type across the hall. Ash took hold of the trainer by the front of their shirt, hauling them to their feet roughly.

"I could have sworn I just said to leave. I suggest you get out of my sight, before I tear you limb for limp apart," he growled. A few more of them whimpered, fearing for their lives, and ran off. The one that Ash held wiggled, freeing their self from his tight grasp, and joined the others that were fleeing. Only a handful remained.

"Ash, go see if anyone is hurt, would you?" May asked, "We can take care of the rest of these fools." He gave the Trainers a warning glance, before finally nodding to May, and walking around the huddled group. Autumn followed after him, running to catch up.

- - -

"Ohhh, can I have your autograph?"

"Why do you wear all black and blue? Why not white or red or pink or purple..."

"Why is your Pikachu that colour?" Patting the air to silence the yapping girls, he sighed. He knew he should have expected to be questioned when they found out he was around. They stared at him with wide eyes. "One at a time! I can't answer three things at once!" he said, "And someone go get me paper and a pen."

Ash waited until the ones that ran off returned with his requested items, and pulled a chair out to sit behind the table, crossing his legs at the ankles under it. "Now," he said, "who's first?"

He went pale, immediately regretting asking the question, as the shouting became almost overwhelming. "ME!" most of them screamed at him.

Sighing, he started signing the sheets, his tongue between his teeth. The students waited impatiently for him to finish, dancing about in antsy anticipation. Wiggling the pen thoughtfully, he looked up. "Name?"

It would prove to be a very, very long day.

- - -

"So you need the Crystal? What for?" Autumn asked, as the small group walked toward the elevator. They had managed to save Ash further misery from sitting and signing more papers for hours – it had already been a little over an hour when they managed to get to him – by using the excuse that they were in a hurry and had to be going.

"Yes, I need it if I plan on getting Bonded," the Shadow Master replied, tagging the up button impatiently. The doors open, and they piled in. "Do you know where exactly it's kept?"

"Of course!" she snickered, and they waited in silence as the elevator hummed quietly, and dinged when they reached the tenth floor. They followed the young girl to a door marked "F.C." Unlocking it with her electric key, Autumn let them go in before following.

Staring around in amazement, Misty moved out of the way, letting Ash get past her. He approached the pedestal that stood in the middle of the room, the single light shining above it. "Oh my god..." May whispered, "It's so...small. I expected it to be bigger then that."

"So did I." It was a dark-as-night black, snowy white swirling through its depths like a snow storm on an otherwise clear night. The light reflected off of the smooth surface, the facets sparkling.

"It's so beautiful," Paran said. Ash delicately picked up the stone, weighing it in his hands, a small smile flitting across his face. Misty looked at him.

"Ash, how are you supposed to use that?" she asked, and he shrugged. He wondered the same thing.

"How should I know?"


	13. Chapter Thirteen: Ashura's Past

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Pokemon, its characters, locations, or names. All of them, with the exception of the original characters, belong to Nintendo

Credits: The original fan fiction Shadow League was based off, Pokemon Master, was written by Acey. I retrieved permission before starting this the first time. Kiall and Elizabeth belong to me. "Paran" is the property of Elemental Sorceress, who had requested that I include her in my fan fiction.

A/N: I really need to start rewriting LT. I also want to write a Christmas story for my OCs, which I most likely will do instead. XD And I might post it on dA for once, since people normally don't get to see them in action besides pictures. Horrah for (my) Ash and Faysal. XD Hee.

Warnings: The pairing in this is RivalSibling. This fan fiction has a lot of violence and gore, not to mention some language, and implied rape/sex. Not for kids, that's for sure.

- - -

**Chapter 13: Ashura's Past**

May blinked sleepily, and rubbed her eyes. She rolled over, noticing movement across the camp, and looked over, scanning the area over, the minimal light from the dying fire barely aiding her. She gaped; Ash was sitting up, his eyes closed and head tilted down, his chin against his chest. Pikachu was in his lap, ears moving forwards and backwards as it breathed.

She had to stifle her yelp when he leaned forward, scooping the snoozing pokemon into his arms, and stood up. May would have wondered if he was really asleep, except that his breathing was too regulated for him to be awake, and his movements too slow. She watched as the Shadow Master started walking away, his steps quiet, barely making a whisper of noise.

Glancing at the others, all of which were in their own dreams, May hastily followed after Ash. Within several minutes, she found that it was harder then she thought to keep the wandering Master within her sights, and realized that she had lost him. "Damn, this is what I get for stalking someone."

Turning around on her heel, looking for a way back or for some sign of Ash's presence, May frowned. She heard a snap behind her, and started in the direction of it, keeping a hand at her hip. She had stumbled on another clearing in the dark forest; May stared incredulously at the cavern entrance that was across from her. With no sign of Ash around, she let her curiosity get the better of her, and entered blindly.

It took several moments for the constricted, rocky passage to open up into a large cavern. May tilted her head back, basking in the moonlight that flooded in through the hole in the high ceiling, until a cough interrupted the serenity. Her eyes narrowed when she looked at the cause. She hadn't been alone; Ash and Elizabeth were several feet away, only the latter being conscious.

Ash, on the other hand, appeared to still be out of it, his head lulling as he was held aloft by solid chains of white light. She could see that his eyes were closed, even though his hair partially obscured her view of them. Elizabeth gave her a small smile. "Marian," she said, "It's good to see you again."

The Ice Master nodded. "What's going on? Why'd you-"

"Chain him up? It's simple really. He needs to be here, and stay here, for the Bonding. It's tonight. I can feel it, and I've a hunch that Ash felt the same thing. _I_ didn't summon him." Elizabeth laughed. "I know when he wakes up though, he won't be all too happy that his own subconscious mind betrayed him."

May mirrored her smile then. "Most likely not," she agreed, and Elizabeth turned away from her.

She gave the sleeping Master a loving look, her eyes clouded over sadly, before she started the short walk over to May. "But yet," Elizabeth said, "at the same time, because of it, he could be the happiest he's been in years." She shook her hair out of her face, "Even though the Bonding is tonight, it isn't going to be to me. It's to be to you."

"What? How?_ Why?_" May pulled her cloak around her, feeling a chill fall over her at the sad look of longing Elizabeth had.

"Because, for...for it to be successful, typically the Shadow Master and Light Master...they have to care about each other. To be willing to risk themselves to save their opposite, to _love_ each other. I know, I do, but...Ashura...he's a different story altogether." Tears were forming in the deep pools of her eyes. "When we both were in the League, I remember how often he'd cry, and I could never tell why and how to get him to stop. It seemed to make it worse if I tried to help."

May wondered where the Light Master was taking the story to. "I realized, back in the forest near Mount Moon, that it was you that had him so torn up. He loved you more then anything in the world, and I've a feeling that is exactly how it has stayed."

Her eyes narrowed, the old memories resurfacing, and pain that had been attached to them burning her. "Then why...why did he..."

"Leave you?" May nodded, glancing away. Elizabeth gave a shake of the head. "I don't think even Ash knows the answer. Initially, he _was_ a danger to even himself. He was doing what he could to ensure that you were safe from harm, so that you wouldn't get caught up in the mess of a life he had while he was so unstable. I know that he felt terrible about it." She laughed softly. "Ash used to talk in his sleep. It's a good way to learn things about a person, listening to them talk when they can't control their own ramblings."

"But you two were together? Didn't that mean anything?"

"We were, for a little while. When he showed up, he was so... worn out? I remember that the first thing I thought when I was introduced to him was how sick he looked, and how...how do I put this...suicidal he was at that time. At the time I thought it was just because he was struggling with his Element like I was with mine, so I tried helping him with his." Elizabeth sat on the ground, curling her legs under her. "I was surprised when Ash started expressing actual interest in training and learning what to do and how to do it. Though it seemed like out of the stadium he was just as gloomy as usual, except..." She smiled slightly. "Except for when we were together. It seemed like me being around comforted him, except for those times that I said that it made things worse. When I found out it was you that was on his mind so much, it clicked."

May blinked, watching her curiously. Elizabeth took a hold of her hands. "Do you remember when we were kids, and found it funny we had the same birthday, the same hour in fact, the same hospital? And how we both had never met our father?" she asked, and the brunette nodded hesitantly, "Well, I found out some things through Kiall, and from Mom. Dad...he...wasn't normal."

"What do you mean? What about your dad not being normal?"

"Not my dad." Elizabeth corrected, "Ours. We have the same father. That's why we both had fathers...a father...that disappeared. Mom said that after their night together, he...well, vanished. She never heard from him afterwards. The same thing happened to your Mom, didn't it?"

The Ice Master was silent, stunned. "He was an Elemental," she continued, "and to ensure that a Light Master was born, he made sure two children were conceived rather then one. We were tied together since that night. That's why whenever something happened, it happened to us both. When you started teething, I started teething. I started puberty, you started, probably." She took a deep breath. "When I found that it was you...it all made sense. Me and you are connected, we are on the same wavelength, even our Elements are combined to some small degree, and without even realizing it, Ash was picking up on the connection. I reminded him of you."

Elizabeth looked away then, tears streaking down her face. "That's why he hurt more when I tried to comfort him. It was because he was crying for you, and my presence was too much like yours, it made him hurt more." She wiped her eyes. "He loved _me_, I know he did in a way, but the whole time...the whole time it wasn't me he wanted to be with."

Standing, the Light Master looked up toward the sky. "I think it's time to make things right again." she said, her aura forming around her, "Marian, you better take care of and love him, because you're the one Ash'll be saving this world with."

- - -

Stirring, Pikachu looked up blearily, confused as to what had happened and where he was. When he had fallen asleep, he had felt leaves and moss under him; now, it was hard, cold rock. Blue eyes opening, they widened as he saw the still form of his friend and Master in a heap on the ground, cloak twisted around him. "Pikapi!" the frightened creature yelled, frantically shaking him.

Moaning loudly, Ash shifted, stretching his arms up over his head. Sitting up, he painfully rubbed his head, squinting. "I have such a headache..." he complained, glancing around.

"Pi..." the electric mouse cooed, and Ash looked at him. He sighed unhappily.

"Where in hell are we?" the Shadow Master asked, giving his pokemon a strange look. Pikachu shrugged and looked around. Squealing, his ears perked up.

"Pika!" Pikachu bolted away from him, skipping happily, and Ash followed awkwardly, still very much bemused. A small, white-furred rodent watched them, sitting on her hunches several feet away.

"Chuuupika! Pikapi!" the new electric-type squeaked, meeting them halfway. She met with Pikachu first, the two dancing around each other as they gripped paws, then she went on to find Ash. He let her jump onto him, raising an eyebrow when she giggled excitedly over being able to see them again.

"Lucia! It's been a while since I've seen you, girl!" he laughed, hugging the pikachu. Lucia licked him on the cheek, her small pink tongue whipping out in the quick movement before she finally calmed down. "Where's Li...Elizabeth?"

"Pikachu?" Lucia replied. Her tail jerked, and she peered around his arm. He turned slowly, and his eyes widened, shock showing on his face, along with Pikachu's. "Pikapika, Piiipika, chuuuuu..."

"What in hell is going on here?" he said, letting Lucia jump down, and approached the unconscious form. He knelt down, brushing the long strands of brown hair away from her face. "May...Lucia, what happened? What's she doing here?" Ash frowned. "What are we all doing here? I don't remember ever coming over here."

"Chuu pi pikachu," Pikachu affirmed, tilting his head. Lucia whimpered, leaping to cling onto Ash's shoulder.

"Pikapi...pi pikachu pik! Pikapika!" Ash stared at her in confusion, and when she pointed a small paw upwards, he started taking notice of their surroundings; the hole, the carvings in the walls, the general feeling he was getting from the cavern... He gently held May up, her head against his chest.

"Come on, wake up. You have to wake up." He felt her grip his wrist, her fist tightening, and her lips moved silently, the words they were forming silent, inaudible. Green eyes slitted open to meet his gold ones.

"Ash..." she said softly, tears shimmering as they slid down her face, "I'm sorry." He seemed to be baffled, looking around somewhat blankly – a look that was unusual for Ash, all things considered – as if he was trying to find someone or something to help with the situation. Pikachu shook his head, sighing.

"Pikachu cha Pikapika," the creature suggested, and he frowned. Being comforting was not his strong suit; he hadn't _had_ to comfort anyone, and had had to steel himself against _needing_ comforting himself for the most part. As such, finally being thrust into the position of needing to, Ash was at a lost at what to do. Without thinking, his embrace tightened around May and he felt her twist to face him, her eyes glowing.

Something was wrong. Ash's expression mirrored the surprise he felt when he sensed the change in Element; the mesh of Ice and Light, both separate entities within the same Master, yet seeming the same at one time. Realizing that something was going on, he prodded her. "Why did you change?" he asked warily, and May shook her head, "Where's Elizabeth?"

"She's..." Thinking over the answer, May was unsure of how to word what had happened. She clutched at his hand, squeezing it, not wanting him to let go. Pressing her cheek against his palm, the new Light Master smiled sadly. "She's...I'm her. We were linked together, and she decided that she wanted to become one person rather then two. Too much was at stake for her to remain the way she was."

He stayed silent a minute, the news that the woman that had proved to be the one that had saved his very life years back was, by all definitions, gone from existence. "What happens to you then?"

"I've got her Element, that's all. I'm no different." May felt oddly warmed when Ash nuzzled her, holding her protectively, and he let out a breath he had held in. "Do you have the Crystal with you?"

Even though his eyes were shut, Ash nodded, and pulled the offending item out of the pouch that had been at his hip. The black and white mineral was glowing brightly, the hard surfaces feeling nearly hot in his hand. May gently touched it, and it burned even brighter for several seconds. She took the artifact into her own hands, cupping it, and squirmed to get away from him, standing carefully.

Feeling wobbly, May shuffled her feet rather then walk, looking for some sign of how to go about getting through what it was they had to get through. Lucia and Pikachu, however, seemed to know _exactly_ it was that they had to do; they trotted to the center of the cave, where the moonlight shone in brightly, and pointed at the floor hurriedly. Taking the hint, she set it down, and jumped back just as Ash stepped behind her.

A pedestal of grey stone rose from the ground, carvings of the sun, moon, stars, and planets dotting it, and the Forbidden Crystal sitting innocently on top, the light hitting it just right. They would have admired the beauty of it longer, had Lucia and Pikachu not already taken their places to the West and East respectively, and was waiting impatiently for them.

"Pika, pikachu, piii!" Lucia chirped, pointing a small furry paw toward the carvings in the wall, at the symbols that looked unreadable for any that weren't them. May circled to be to the South, Ash taking his spot at North. She nodded thoughtfully, looking at the ancient writings.

Ash frowned. "It looks like a poem of some kind," he said, displeasure in his voice. May was inclined to agree.

"I think so. I assume we have to recite it." Counting the lines, then the verses, she tipped her head slightly. "Three verses, each with two lines. Rather short for something like this, isn't it?"

Chewing on his tongue, Ash shrugged, reading the words three times over, until he had them ingrained in his memory. "Better short then long. I just memorized it," he remarked as the Crystal started glowing even brighter, indicating that the two Elements weren't willing to wait for the pair to figure out what exactly was happening. It was like they had no control over what they did and said, as the words tumbled out unexpectedly.

_Master of Shadow and Mistress of Light,  
Both join together, on this dark night._

The sun glows to the West,  
the moon shines to the East.

To the North and the South  
do our Chosens both stand.

Oh Crystal of mystery, shining so bright,  
Bind us together, using your light! 

They felt it get cooler and darker as the moonlight was abruptly cut out, leaving only the Crystal to light the cavern. Ash looked up and saw that clouds had rolled over the moon, shielding them from its reflected light. He felt May take hold of his left hand from over the pedestal, and he carefully lifted his other hand to hold hers.

They swayed slightly as energy shuddered through them as the Crystal grew brighter, slowly starting to levitate in the air between them. "This is...so strange," May said, feeling a tingling sensation as it floating in front of her at eye level.

"I couldn't agree more," he replied, wincing when the glowing stone seemed to pulsate, and started cracking, exploding with a loud pop. Crystalline chips hung in the air as the two halves twisted in the air, both of them getting smaller, rounding out, and chains forming out of it, and solidifying; one chain white, the other black. They twirled down onto the pedestal in front of their own Masters, the black and white gems dimming so the only light in it, was deep within the swirling snow inside.

"Chuu!" Lucia squealed, dancing about when Ash carefully picked his up, fingers curling around it and squeezing, May doing the same. He rubbed his thumb across the smooth surface, frowning, before waving the two pokemon off.

"Why don't you two go back to camp? Pikachu, you know where it's at." Cobalt blue eyes stared up at him, giving the Shadow Master a thorough scrutinizing, before Pikachu nodded and poked Lucia into following. Clipping the pendent on, May watched him.

"What's wrong?" she asked when Ash turned back to her, the chain hanging between his fingers. "I've never seen you tell Pikachu to go on without you before. You're always together."

"Nothing is _wrong_. I just..." He looked away again, chewing on his tongue. "I just need to talk to you alone is all."

Waiting until the pedestal melted down into nothing, May stepped across the flattened ground to get closer. "What is it?"

Rubbing his hands together, Ash shook his head slowly. "I don't know." he admitted. His expression changed from cool, to nervous, to bitter rapidly. "I'm the Shadow Master, I've fought against the League single-handedly, yet I'm nearly afraid of what I'm wanting to say, and don't even know how to say it to begin with."

"Oh...oh." May gently pressed the back of her hand against his cheek, smiling when he turned his head slightly, eyes closing as he brought his own hand up to touch hers. "It's alright, Ash. I know already."

The dark-haired man mouthed wordlessly, his eyes going wide; it took several seconds for the statement to sink in totally. "You...know." A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, one that it appeared he was trying to keep from getting out. "You knew. How long?"

"Not that long. An hour, tops? How long was I out for?" May smiled when Ash stared at her dully, and she clarified. "Elizabeth. She figured it out at some point. And made sure to mention it." When she saw the tired look he kept giving her, she took his hand and started leading the way out – May knew he wouldn't remember which way to go, being asleep when he had made the trek through the forest.

"May, is it alright if I ask you something?" Ash asked, scowling as he pushed branches out of their way, and some of them snapping back to hit him in the back of the head. She nodded, glancing at him; it wasn't usually a case where he'd ask if it was alright. Regardless, he'd ask anyway! "Do you love me?"

Startled, she snapped her head to look at him. Ash peered at her nervously, hugging himself, rocking back onto his heels. May would have found his sudden self consciousness amusing under any other circumstances, and had he been anyone else; however, she knew better then to think it was normal for the Shadow Master to act the way he was. Pushing her hair back out of her face, May stuck her tongue out, trying to ease his discomfort. "Well, yes, of course I do. How else could I put up with you?" she taunted.

Seeing that the humor behind the statement had just barely been appreciated by Ash – who only cracked the smallest of smilies – she decided to lay it out seriously. "I didn't go after you back at Cerulean for my health, Ash. And deciding to try helping you at Lavender wasn't exactly helping it either." May thought about it for a moment. "Actually, both of them probably took ten years off of my life."

That time, he laughed, and she grinned. He rubbed his eyes sleepily. "I thought you went with just to make sure I didn't _die_." Grimacing, he looked away. "Just like with the Rebellion. The only reason they don't try to capture me is because they know they need me alive and well to do...well, everything." Ash growled. "I'm nothing more then a walking, talking, treacherous _monster_ to most of them probably, and only a pawn to be used by the rest."

Sympathetically, May hugged him, shaking her head. "Well, yes and no," she admitted, "I did go to make sure you didn't die, because I don't want you to. I was going crazy when you were in that coma, not knowing whether you'd live or die, or if you'd ever wake up. I think, after all this time, I probably would go insane if you did die."

Ash shivered, returning the gesture. "I missed you," he said quietly, and May could hear the misery in his voice clearly, and the effort it was taking not to close up again; it was, once again, almost foreign having someone around that he could actually turn to talk to without the wariness that had became a necessity.

"I know. I missed you, too." Forcing a teary smile, May looked at him. "How about we get to camp? There's a long day ahead, and _a lot_ of explaining to do to the others."

- - -


	14. Chapter Fourteen: Ash's Fall

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Pokemon, its characters, locations, or names. All of them, with the exception of the original characters, belong to Nintendo

Credits: The original fan fiction Shadow League was based off, Pokemon Master, was written by Acey. I retrieved permission before starting this the first time. Kiall and Elizabeth belong to me. "Paran" is the property of Elemental Sorceress, who had requested that I include her in my fan fiction.

A/N: Merry Christmas all! I finally got my cell phone and DS – Even though I have no games for it! But that's ok, I can just use it for the GBA games and drawing little doodles until I do. XD Haha. I also got The Little Mermaid soundtrack among other things, but meh, that isn't something you probably all want to hear about. XD

Anyway, I rather like how this chapter turned out compared to the original. It was really quite...unbelievable how I had it before where Ash became sick immediately, rather then having it progress over a short period of time as it is now.

Warnings: The pairing in this is RivalSibling. This fan fiction has a lot of violence and gore, not to mention some language, and implied rape/sex. Not for kids, that's for sure.

- - -

**Chapter 14: Ash's Fall**

"Like, totally sure, we can take you to Cinnabar!" Daisy replied, getting nods of agreement from the other two women, "We'd do anything to help you, Misty!"

Misty smiled then, the valley girl accent not at all phasing her. "Are the rest of them not complaining that you are helping us?" she asked, and Violet laughed.

"Oh, you mean Koga?" the older girl replied, "Nah. He's being...agreeable about it, as long as we remind him who is involved."

They turned to look at Ash, who rolled his eyes. "That would, wouldn't it?" he said indignantly, looking away, "When can we go? I want to get to the island as soon as we can."

"Just, like, give us an hour to prepare," the blonde sister said, "then we can totally set sail."

"Do it," Lance prompted.

- - -

"Alright, your health is perfect, I can't see any sign of sickness, disease. Your eyesight is good, so is hearing, and I'm assuming your other senses are just as great." Melody pulled a rectangular box out of her lab coat, and flipped it on, aiming its small antenna at Ash, her eyes falling to the readings it was giving. "Your stats are...above normal." Her eyes went wide, her mouth hanging open in disbelief. "They're off the charts! I cannot believe this!"

He gave her a full, evil grin. It was a reaction like that, that made getting such a thorough examination done worthwhile; however, the only reason he asked for one was that he didn't want something cropping up before such an important battle. "Oh, that's nothing." Ash said, feigning modesty, "It came with the title."

The man that worked the computers several feet away muttered under his breath, looking crossly at them. "Arrogant son of a bitch..."

His eyes going narrow quickly, Ash looked at him. "I can hear you, you know," he growled, leaping off the table gracefully.

Frantically, Melody put herself between the two men, glancing from one to the other. "I wouldn't bother." the shorter of the two said, "I'd bet he's too scared of hurting his oh-so-delicate skin to fight me."

Pulling his shirt on, then his cloak, Ash glared at him. "You, sir, are not worth wasting my time or strength on," he whispered venomously, "but I will not hesitate to fight you if you don't shut the hole you call a mouth while you still can!"

"Stan! Do as he says, stop picking on him!" Melody ordered. Stan looked at Ash disapprovingly.

"Hell no. It's boys like these that make you normal Masters look bad!" the elder barked, "Both the Light Master and him. Freaks of nature, I tell ya-"

Within seconds Stan felt the wall against his back, pinned against it, and faced by a very irate, very angry Ash. "You're damn lucky I don't rip your throat out right now," he growled, "and if I ever, _ever_ hear you, or anyone else for that matter, call May anything outside of her title or name again, they won't have vocal cords to speak with! Is that clear?"

"Crystal," Stan mumbled quietly, and Ash let him go, scowling.

"Good. You had better have a good memory of it, because I meant every word."

- - -

The Waverider cut through the ocean, racing over the waves agilely through the night, the sun having set hours before, dinner cleaned up and the dinning room ready for when everyone arose in the morning.

Ash tossed and turned uncomfortably, his efforts at sleep futile. Curling up under the thick blanket to block the chilly air, he shook his head. Sighing impatiently, he wrapped himself lazily around May, getting a soft groan from her in response. "Wake up?" he asked quietly, making a trail of kisses down her throat.

She squirmed. "Ash, what's wrong?" May ask, rubbing her eyes sleepily, "Why are you still up?"

He was quiet for a minute, until she started cuddling against him. "I keep thinking about what happened at the Med Ward," he admitted, and May looked at him curiously. "This tech guy, Stan...gods, he hit a bad nerve. Called us both freaks, called me arrogant, might as well have called me a coward..." The anger he had felt rose again at verbalizing the incident, and it clearly showed on his face.

"What about it?" she said wearily, and Ash winced, regretting waking her up, "He was just being a fool, you know that. Neither of us are freaks, you're not a coward, nor are you...well, actually..."

Nipping at the exposed flesh below her chin as retaliation for the implication, Ash settled back down. "I don't know." He sighed, pressing his cheek against hers, "It is just...so typical. I would get it from just about anyone. Dammit, I know I'm not normal, I know I've done things I shouldn't have and still do them anyway, I don't need my nose rubbed in it!"

"We both know that." May turned so that she was facing him, her face inches from his. "I know that didn't bother you before now. What's changed?"

Thinking about it, Ash couldn't come to a good answer at first. "I don't know," he said, feeling like a broken record, "it's like...here I am, running around to try to save these people's asses, and all some of them can do is scoff at me or attack me. It is one way _not_ to feel appreciated."

The brunette smiled then. "Well, they'll learn their lesson when they see who it was that saved them from a grisly death."

Ash went silent, feeling like a child; when so much was going on, so much at stake, he was pouting like a five year old that was called a name by a bully. _What the hell is wrong with me?_ "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be bugging you with this bull that shouldn't be bugging me either. I'm twenty-eight, for gods' sake."

"You've also been through hell and deserve a little leeway on feeling bad. You are _human_, Ash, even if that term is unknown to you." May stuck her tongue out. "Don't worry about it. I don't really mind it. I think I might keep you around like an alarm clock."

He scowled, albeit good naturedly. "Thanks," Ash said, "I really needed to be dubbed as an object that makes people tear their hair out daily."

- - -

"Where're we at?" Paran asked, hanging over the railing to peer around, "This's too cold for Cinnabar Island."

Unfortunately, a thunderstorm had blown them off course, and they were left with a ship that was damaged and very much stuck at an island that certainly wasn't were they had hoped to be. "This is going to take a few days to fix," Violet said, "We're totally stuck. Any ideas?"

"Are we there yet? Cinnabar?" Everyone turned around to see Ash walk across the bridge toward them, May beside him. "...What're we going at the Seafoam Islands? Weren't we going West, not South?"

"Yes, but..." Daisy shook her head. "That jolt we felt, like, an hour ago? That was the ship totally hitting something, and now we're stranded here until we fix the ship."

"I thought the Seafoam Islands was made up of all caves? This is a normal island," Lance asked, and Ash shrugged.

"Well, they were," May replied, looking out at the chilled landscape, "but then there was an earthquake a few years back that hit around here, and it leveled them."

"Regardless, we can't leave until my sisters get whatever is wrong righted again," Misty sighed, and she smiled slightly, "so why don't we go check things out?"

"Hm, sounds good to me. I need some time on solid ground to move around." Ash glanced between his traveling companions, "Who's all going?"

No one refused. Gathering supplies and necessities, they headed out in the forest.

- - -

Pine trees. They were surrounded by hundreds of pine trees, and the strong scent of them assaulted their noses as they stepped on the needles that littered the ground. A light frost covered everything, making some areas more slippery then other.

"I'm amazed at how fast these grew, if they've only had a few years..." Lance said, admiring the island's landscape. "It's...unreal..."

"Well, a lot of things have happened we didn't think were possible," Paran pointed out. She looked back at them, and frowned; trailing far behind the rest was Ash, who was drifting along slowly. "Hey, Ash! What are you doing, slow poke?"

He looked up, his eyes unfocused, and frowned. Even Pikachu – who was clinging to his shoulder – looked down, ears bent back and shivering. "Are you alright? You look sick," Misty said.

"I'm fine." Ash forced a smile - even though he felt like he was a walking corpse, his mind not quite wanting to function at normal speed, like he was in a state of dreaming rather then awake - and waved them on. "Let's keep going, I'm alright."

"Actually..." Lance started, crossing his arms, "I suggest that we stop for the night. It's getting darker, and going any farther could prove dangerous. We need to set up camp."

Agreeing on it, they started unpacking, getting set up for dinner and for their stay in the grove of trees. The fire Paran made roared quietly as they worked, lighting up the area as darkness started falling over them. "Pikachu? Pikapi..." the Shadow Pokemon cooed, head tilting.

"No, don't worry about it," Ash yawned. Pikachu snarled, and trotted over to May and Lucia, poking at them hurriedly.

"What's wrong Pikachu?" she asked, stroking the dark furred creature. Before he could reply, she heard a thud, and turned to look at Ash; he had fallen over. "Ash!"

She rushed over to him as the others noticed the commotion. "What happened?" Lance asked as she pulled Ash up. May shook her head.

Misty placed the back of her hand against his forehead, withdrawing it quickly with a gasp. "He's burning up! I thought Melody said everything was fine!"

"She did," May said, running a hand through the Shadow Master's long hair, feeling just how warm he was at that moment. Ash moaned, shivering, and went silent again, his breath being shallow one minute, rhythmic the next. She hugged him. "Ash..."

"This can't be normal," Paran said, turning to Lance, "since...since he has healing..."

"Yes, I know." the Dragon Master replied, "This isn't normal, by any means. It's too abrupt, too...unusual. We need to get him to a doctor." May let Fiona out, the ice bird letting out a shrill tune.

"I'll take him now. We can't waste time going on foot," she said, and they nodded in understanding.

- - -


	15. Chapter Fifteen: Shadow Agony

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Pokemon, its characters, locations, or names. All of them, with the exception of the original characters, belong to Nintendo

Credits: The original fan fiction Shadow League was based off, Pokemon Master, was written by Acey. I retrieved permission before starting this the first time. Kiall and Elizabeth belong to me. "Paran" is the property of Elemental Sorceress, who had requested that I include her in my fan fiction.

A/N: I'm trying to get the story up before school starts again, since I'll be working on my term paper over time once it starts again. I should be working on it now, but...that I an do later today. I have way too much to do. x.X blah. So much to do, so little time to do it in!

Warnings: The pairing in this is RivalSibling. This fan fiction has a lot of violence and gore, not to mention some language, and implied rape/sex. Not for kids, that's for sure.

- - -

**Chapter 15: Shadow Agony**

Shutting the door with a quiet click, Doctor Beaumont stood grimly in front of the small group, holding the clipboard to his chest. He sat down at the head of the table, and looked at each of them individually. "I'm not sure what it is that's causing it," he started, speaking softly, "though I have my suspicion that this is most likely poison. I've looked many up to find one that would fit his current symptoms, and ones that his body would have a hard time fighting regardless of his Element's healing powers, and the only one I have been able to come up with was Kumori Poison."

When he was only given either blank looks or worried ones, he continued. "It's a very unusual substance, unpredictable in the best of cases." the doctor said, running down the paper he was looking at with his index finger, "Currently, all I'm seeing it doing is giving the patient a severe fever. Possibly also that fainting spell, though that could just be the fever being too much for him, so I am unsure. I've managed to get the temperature down somewhat, but there isn't much else I can do."

"But...how is it able to get past his abilities?" Misty asked. Dr. Beaumont shook his head, and tapped the clipboard again.

"It has to do with the purpose of it. It's fairly new, but I believe this is one that actually _feeds_ off of a person's Element, which would enable it to do damage faster then their abilities can work to fix and stop it." Glancing at each other, they frowned. Standing, he smiled. "I wouldn't worry yet. Ashura is a force to be reckoned with, and it is doubtful that this'll keep him down for long."

As he left, May sighed and went to follow. "I think I'm going to go see how Ash is doing," she said.

- - -

Shutting the door behind her, May slid down into the chair that sat next to the bed, and frowned. Ash was twisting fitfully in his sleep, mumbling under his breath a refusal to whatever was happening in his mind. Picking up the washrag that had fallen to the floor, she rinsed it off in the bowl sitting on the nightstand. Making sure it was cool, she put it back on his forehead, quietly shushing him. "Shh, it's alright."

He whimpered, but settled back against the pillows, going quiet and still. Relaxing, May sat back, watching worriedly as the seconds ticked by. It was unusual seeing him in such a vulnerable state; his cloak and vest off, he was only in his pants and loose blue shirt, the latter of which had rode up from him turning and twisting to expose his stomach. His cheeks were pink from his fever, his mouth hanging slightly open; May found it amazing that, for someone so ill and that had been through so much, he could look so innocently childlike.

She was pulled out of her thoughts when Ash gasped and sat up. He clutched at the sheets, his shoulders shaking and his breathing turned shallow. When she went to try to get him to lay down, Ash latched onto her, sobbing softly. He mumbled inaudibly, sniffling, when May tried soothing him again. "Ash, it's all right...please stop crying, it's all right."

"It hurts, the pain..." he wheezed, his eyes squeezed shut, tears leaking out, "make it stop...dear god, please, make it _stop_..."

"What's wrong? Ash, you have to tell me," May asked, and he pushed himself back to sit on the bed properly. The normally determined gold eyes were uneasy, and haunted. Ash took a deep breath, waiting for the shaking to stop, and he shook his head.

"I keep...I keep seeing everything...everything..." he said, hugging his knees to his chest, shivering, a fresh wave of agony falling over him. "The suffering, the pain, the torture...all of it...like it's all happening again..."

May bit down hard on her tongue, debating on whether to tell him what the doctor had diagnosed, and whether it was a good idea to be around him in the condition he was in. "Ash," she started to say, worrying her lower lip, "the doctor, he doesn't know for sure what's wrong, but he thinks..." She looked away. "He thinks that someone poisoned you. Or something did, anyway. It's Kumori Poison...and it..."

Before she could finish, he started swearing under his breath, hunching over, his eyes widening, pain shining in them. "Make it stop," he hissed, "Make it stop! Stop! Stop! STOP!" May leaped up when Ash grabbed the pitcher that had been used to pour the water into the bowl from the stand and slammed it down over his head, the glass shattering into pieces at the impact. "Get it out of my head!"

"Settle down! You're going to hurt yourself!" she said, brushing the glass shards off the bed. He looked at her forlornly as she started feeling for the bump the pitcher most likely caused, and his shoulders slumped forward.

"It just won't stop." he whispered, his voice choking up, "It just won't stop. You don't know, May, you don't know what this is like, going through all of this...all over again...and again...and again..."

"We'll figure out a cure, and it'll be all over," May soothed, holding him and gently smoothing down his hair. Ash merely made a confused "Humph" in response.

"How is it affecting me?" Ash asked, nuzzling her, an action that seemed more to ensure she was there then anything else.

"It's using your Element against you, so it can get past your healing ability. We need to find an antidote or some kind of cure for you to get better." They sat in tense silence for several minutes, until Ash turned his head to glance at May and gave her a sad smile.

"If I really need to, I could end up beating the League to a pulp with this poison in me." May patted him on the head.

"I doubt it." She stood, letting him go. "Get some sleep, Ash. You're going to need it."

Nodding, he settled comfortably into the pillows that littered the bed. "May?" he croaked, and she turned to look at him.

"What is it?" May asked. Ash rubbed his eyes.

"Keep...watch Pikachu and Lucia. They tend to get in trouble together if you don't keep them in line." Before May could agree, he started again, rambling about things she should do.

"I'll make sure to, now shut your eyes before I glue them shut!" she ordered, "You idiot."

"They are!" Ash twisted, pressing his face into the pillow, his eyes squeezed shut. She shook her head.

"Oh shut up. I think some more damage was done then the doctor thinks. Probably thanks to that pitcher." Ash was silent for a minute, moved to look at her, then stuck his tongue out at her. Giving him a fake glare, May walked out.

- - -

Beaumont sat at the front of the long table, shuffling his papers around as they waited from him to start speaking. He looked up. "This is a very unusual case. This is indeed the Kumori Poison, but that is typically deadly. We are very lucky he has a lot of power built up in him, otherwise this would have killed him by now." He frowned. "I'm reviewed the...previous cases, and so far his symptoms are matching up. Feverish temp, exhaustion, flashbacks...dizziness, headache, nausea, loss of voice...and we don't even know what else it could do. So far, the only ones that have been subjected to it weren't Masters as far as I know."

May took a breath, and looked at the doctor uneasily. "Can it affect his behavior?" she asked, getting a strange look from Lance and Beaumont.

"That's unknown. What changes has there been that I'm unaware of?" he replied, and May sighed.

"Well, attempting to bash his own head in with a water pitcher isn't normal for him. That was a suicide attempt if I've ever seen one, that thing wasn't light." May rubbed her temples, running through what had happened in her mind. "I managed to get him to calm down, and when he wasn't having his flashbacks, he was playful as all hell. The bastard stuck his tongue out at me!"

"And that's unusual?" Beaumont asked. Looking between themselves, then at him, everyone nodded.

"Very much so." Lance said, rapping his fist on the tabletop impatiently, "I remember in the League, Ash was in pretty severe pain, and I still believe he was ready to take his own life and end it when we took him in, but since then...I doubt he's considered such a thing, probably hasn't even given it a thought seriously."

"Though, him acting like a kid isn't so off," Misty pointed out, "ever since Cerulean when we all met up there's been times when I'd swear he's a totally different person. It's almost like I'm looking at the old him, back when the League was the Pokemon League. Though those times are rare, only has happened maybe once, twice at most?"

"Hm." Jotting down the information, he nodded along. "That could be chalked up to the flashbacks. It could be another symptom. Either way that could prove dangerous in different circumstances then this..." Worried glances were exchanged within the group of Masters.

"What about a cure for this then?" Lance questioned, and the doctor sighed, shaking his head.

"This is no cure, I've looked and found none. The only thing I can think of is far too dangerous to try. It could damage Ash more then he already is, and it'd put many people in danger."

"Just tell us what it is." May said warily, "Just about any cure is better then watching him suffer through this. And we need him healthy." Misty, Paran, and Lance could only roll their eyes at her attempt of appearing to only care for the Shadow Master's welfare on a level of needing him to do his duty.

"Well, I am aware of his second personality from the details you gave me, and about the power increase that occurs when his normal personality and the other switches places. I have been mulling over the idea of forcing...what's his name, Mazin?...to come forward, that it might overpower the poison." He cleared his throat. "Or it could make this worse. I don't know." The four sat in stunned silence.

"Ash...isn't going to be happy with that." May sighed. "So, who's going to tell him?"

The others looked around, whistling, until May scowled at them. "Fine, you cowards. I'll get you back for making me tell him." Getting up from the table, she walked around it, and grabbed Lance by his cloak. He thrashed against being pulled out of his seat.

"What're you doing, May?!" he yelled as she pulled him along.

"I'm not going to be the only one in there! You know he won't react well to this, he hates Mazin! He won't take it lightly!" she snapped, and Lance flinched, and sighed.

"Yes, yes...You're right. Let's go."

- - -

Opening the door, they looked in before entering. "Ash?" Lance asked, noting that the room was silent; too silent for his liking.

There was a hiccup, then a small voice piped up. "In here." Glancing at each other, they went over to the bathroom.

"Are you alrigh-" May started, but she stopped abruptly when Ash looked at her. He was bent over the sink, almost looking green from being so sick, and scowled.

"No, of course I'm not all right!" he snapped, making a face, "My head hurts, and I've been puking my guts up! If that's all right, I don't want to know what it's like being sick!"

"Oh you idiot, you should have called for the doctor!" she said, wincing when he flinched, and leaned back over, gagging into the sink. "He needs to know when new symptoms start."

"Tell me he's found a cure. _Please_." Ash whined, cleaning up when he was finally able to leave the bathroom without fear of throwing up again. He dropped onto the bed, watching them. Lance and May looked at each other warily, before replying.

"Well, Ash, that's the problem." Lance replied, and he took a step backwards, safely out of Ash's range of attack, "There isn't one that he knows of."

"What?" the Shadow Master yelled, and they shrank back at how loud his voice was.

"The doctor did come up with an idea, but it's really dangerous to you and to anyone that is within a five mile radius of you," May added quickly, and Ash looked at them curiously.

"Well, get on with it. What is it?" he questioned.

"It involved Mazin." Lance admitted, and Ash shrugged. "He wants to try to use Mazin to increase your Elemental power level, and in turn most likely your healing ability. He's hoping it'll be enough to destroy the poison that's in your system."

Standing, Ash started pacing back and forth, his mouth turned down in a frown in concentration. "Mazin...he wants to use Mazin." He sighed. "Fine. If there is no other way to get rid of it, then so be it."

May and Lance gawked at him in amazement, and Ash smiled. However, it quickly changed to a scowl when he heard loud shouts up on the deck, and he jumped off the bed, and started out of the room, calling for Pikachu. "Where are you going?" the brunette asked as both Shadow and Light pokemon appeared from the stairwell, ears twitching, "You shouldn't even be out of bed unless you have to be!"

"You'll find out in a minute, I need to be!" On the deck, they gasped. The noise being made hadn't been an accident from one of the workers; the League was scaling the sides of the ship, attacking them. "This is why. I heard them."

"That look..." May frowned. "Ash, I know that look. You're going to take them on. You're in no condition to!"

"Shut up! I can't sit out knowing we're in trouble!" Ash gave her a desperate look, and May felt her will breaking down. "I can't just lay down and let them terrorize everyone without doing something."

"One battle with the League won't doom us all to a painful death!" she said, and he glared at her.

"You don't understand!" he snapped, running off before Lance or May could stop him, Pikachu following close on his heels. Ash looked around, not seeing a sign of Misty or Paran nearby, and turned when he spotted two Masters advancing on him; a Ground Master, and a Poison one.

"Hello, Shadow Master," the Ground Master, Kai, greeted, grinning as his companion smiled, both noting that Ash did not look well at all.

"Is Kumori treating you well, Master Ashura? I hope it is, I am behind it after all," Gideon, the other one, sniggered. Ash looked at them, unmoved, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"What do you morons want?" he asked, and Kai smiled before replying.

"We're ordered to stop you're voyage to Cinnabar," they said, "and we'll fight you to do it!" Ash rolled his eyes, clearly uncaring, and the two Masters threw out their attacks. He dodged out of the way, just narrowly getting missed, and called for Pikachu.

"Shadow Blade!" Ash said, and Pikachu nodded. He jumped into the air, glowing a blue-black colour as his body turned into pure Shadow energy, and shifted into the long, dangerous sword. Catching it by the hilt, the blade glinted dangerously, Ash smirked. "You want a fight, boys? Well, you just got one!"

- - -


	16. Chapter Sixteen: Fight of Fire

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Pokemon, its characters, locations, or names. All of them, with the exception of the original characters, belong to Nintendo

Credits: The original fan fiction Shadow League was based off, Pokemon Master, was written by Acey. I retrieved permission before starting this the first time. Kiall and Elizabeth belong to me. "Paran" is the property of Elemental Sorceress, who had requested that I include her in my fan fiction. "Shadow Fox" is the property of Shadow Fox 05, who also requested that I include him in my fan fiction.

A/N: Well, obviously I failed at getting it up before school started again...blah. Sucks.

I'm possibly going to be starting two more fan fictions.. x.X Way to go Ashura, get yourself tied into a bunch of stories. XD Fun. I should finish all the current ones first..

Warnings: The pairing in this is RivalSibling. This fan fiction has a lot of violence and gore, not to mention some language, and implied rape/sex. Not for kids, that's for sure.

- - -

**Chapter 16: Fight of Fire**

May rolled the poke ball between her palms, warily watching her opponent. "Atlantic" was written across the grey band that separated the two hemispheres; she threw the blue orb, and a beam of red light shot out to form into a Water and Ice type, Dewgong. "Dewgong, gong, gong!" the sea lion screamed.

"Atlantic, Hyper Beam!" May ordered, and the creature opened her mouth wide, a multicoloured beam shooting out at the Fight Master. He jumped out of the way, the energy beam barely missing his shoulder. She looked past him casually, and her eyes widened. "Somebody go help him!"

- - -

"Ugh, gods..." Ash stood up unsteadily, rubbing his head as the throbbing headache worsened from before, his head feeling like it was about to split open. Frowning, he gripped the Shadow Blade tightly, his hands around the hilt.

"Tired, Master Ashura?" Gideon asked snidely, grinning widely, "It seems as if you aren't as strong as everyone has been saying you are!"

Growling, Ash shook his head angrily. Kai charged at him, daggers held out at alternating angles, aiming for his chest and face. Ash ducked down out of the way, his cloak taking the brunt of the damage as it tore on one of the earthen daggers. Gideon let out an Ivysaur with a smirk. "Vine Whip!" he said.

Ash swung the Shadow Blade up to stop the vines, but they merely wrapped around his wrists, breaking his hold on the weapon, and continued to bind him. Squirming, he gave them a mean glare, snarling. Laughing loudly, Gideon nodded to his Ivysaur, and the plant animal jolted the Shadow Master off of his feet.

Struggling to a sitting position, Ash looked up at them. "You're going to regret this-" he started, as Kai struck him hard in the face with his boot, knocking him over again. He slid into somebody, groaning. "It looks as if you need some assistance, Shadow Master," the black-clothed man said.

Staring up with a startled look, Ash nodded numbly. "Who're you?" Kai demanded.

"I am Shadow Fox. I've come all the way from the abyss to travel in this world, and I suggest that you get away from here before I cause harm to you both." Gideon and Kai looked at each other, and laughed. Fox shook his head in disgust. "Pitiful."

They stopped laughing as a soft glow of Psychic Element surrounded them, lifting them up into the air silently. They protested as they were slammed against the floor time and time again, much to Ash's amazement; he pulled at the vines to get them off. Fox let them go when it was obvious they had gotten the point; whimpering, they jumped overboard, Ivysaur following suit after it has withdrawn its vines. "Are you alright, Shadow Master?" the stranger asked, helping him up.

Ash winced, feeling the aches and pains from the beating he had taken. "I'll be all right after I get cleaned up." he said, brushing dust off his pants, "Who're you? Where'd you come from, I haven't seen you around here."

"I'm lived in the abyss, the Ice Mountains, and then the Abyss once again. I'm a Master of Darkice and Psychic, and us a katana forged from Darkice, Electricity, and Psychic energy." Fox looked at him. "I came here to live as a Bounty Hunter, then a Wanderer, so here I am. Is that all you wanted to know, Shadow M-"

"Would you stop calling me? It's annoying." Ash scowled, then smiled weakly. "That's not my name. It's Ashura, not 'Shadow Master.'"

"Ah, indeed it is. I was unsure of what a man of your great power would be called." Ash snorted.

"Great power? At the moment, not hardly. Just call me Ash, would you?" he requested, then looked away uneasily. "I seem to owe you a thank you. It's a good think you showed up when you did."

"Yes, it was." Fox looked over Ash's shoulder, raising an eyebrow, before looking at him questioningly. "Who is that? There is someone running this way, and she seems rather hurried."

Before he could turn around, Ash was nearly knocked over by May. "I'm going to say this as nicely as I can," he said, "lay off the tackling, would you? I just got beat by two fools."

Ignoring the complaints, May held on tightly. "You had me so worried!" she scowled, "You shouldn't have done that! What if someone hadn't saw that you need help, huh?"

"Let go!" Ash fruitlessly tried to pry her off, frowning miserably. "Everyone is watching!"

"Act your age and shut up." May looked at him, wiping at the cut that bled at the corner of his lip. "You look terrible, Ash! You really should go back to bed and rest."

His expression went dark. "The only reason I'm listening to you," he said, walking over to the door that led down to the cabins as the Shadow Blade shifted back into Pikachu, "is because I feel like shit and am tired. That's all."

- - -

"When we port at Cinnabar, we'll go to the lab there, since it'll have all of the equipment we'll need. You said Ashura agreed?" Beaumont asked, and Lance nodded. "How's his condition?"

"Not so good." the Dragon Master replied, "Ever since that issue with the League where he took that beating, he's gotten worse. Headaches getting more painful, the flashbacks are more frequent, the fever rose to unhealthy numbers, he's not able to keep anything down..."

Fox looked up, green eyes going wide. "That isn't all of it," he said, all attention turning to him. "He's started having dizzy spells. I had to help him earlier because he could hardly walk during one of them."

Beaumont frowned deeply, writing down everything they said. "It's getting stronger. How much longer until we'll be at the island?"

"It'll be about an hour or two more," Misty replied, remembering the times Violet gave to her. The doctor nodded.

- - -

Lance sat quietly, even the rustling of his clothes making him wince. He didn't care to wake up the sleeping Shadow Master, who was sleeping quite soundly in the bed next to him. The boat tilted, jolted, and settled again; it was obvious they had just docked at Cinnabar, even from the windowless room they were in. Waiting for the doctor to poke his head in the door, the bright haired Master cautiously tried waking Ash up, biting his lip. "Ohh. Leave me a_lone_," was the groggy reply to the prodding.

"Come on! We're at Cinnabar, you have to wake up!" Ash scowled.

"I don't care if we're at Cinnabar, or at freakin' Hell! I'm tired!" he snapped, curling up under the blanket as Lance sighed, shaking his head.

"My god, he's impossible!" Lance said, staring in disbelief at the snoozing man. May watched both the Dragon Master and the doctor quietly from the doorway, smirking, before intervening on them.

"I could have told you that before you got your head ripped off." Both men jumped, surprised at the sudden entrance. "Pfft. How in hell did I manage to scare the both of you?"

"You didn't. I was just surprised." Lance huffed, and May snickered. "What do you mean though? You could have told us that?"

She rolled her eyes. "If you'd of asked, I could have told you that you'd have an easier time draining the ocean then you would of getting him to get out of bed at the moment." Sitting on the edge of the bed, she shook her head. "And even if you did, he'd end up in a bad mood. Why do you think I try not to wake him up? He becomes grouchy as all hell because of being sick."

"Oh, for gods sake. We need him awake to go to the lab!" Lance cried, and she frowned at him. "Whatever, would you just try to get him to listen? If anyone can, it's you."

"Wait a minute, get back here-" May yelled as the two men disappeared out of the door, leaving her alone with Ash. "Bastards. I'll kill you both for this!"

Muttering under her breath, she twisted to look at Ash, who had pulled the blanket up around his head to stay warm. "Hey, do you think you could get up?" she asked quietly, brushing the hair away from his closed eyes

Mumbling under his breath, Ash hugged his pillow to his chest. Seeing that being nice was getting no where fast, she took to shaking him. He moaned. "Whaaat?" he asked, peering at her through slitted eyes.

Not wishing to be throttled by him when he finally sat up, May quickly replied, "We have to get to the lab so you can be cured."

Ash blinked rapidly. "Lab? What lab?" he said, sitting up and rubbing his eyes sleepily, "Are we at Cinnabar?"

"Yes. And there's a lab here that has all of the equipment that Beaumont needs to get you cured from that poison. If it wasn't for the fact that he wants to get this done as soon as possible, I'd of just let you sleep."

"How long I've been out?" Ash stretched, peering at her curiously when he finally stood.

"Not that long. Three or four hours." The grogginess that still lingered disappeared when Lance returned, checking on them for the doctor. "How far is the lab from here?"

"Only about a twenty minutes walk from here," he said, and Ash sighed. Hanging onto May, he scowled.

"I'm too tired to walk that far. Can't you carry me?" he whined, getting shrugged off. May shooed him away.

"Like hell. I wouldn't carry you, even if I could manage it," she said, getting a sad smile from him.

"I had to try."

- - -

Beaumont pushed the loud, creaking doors open, wincing as the sound echoed. It was obvious to him that the room they were going into hadn't been used in a while, and the control room – which was covered in a fine dust – proved it. The wall above the panel was glass, affording them a view of the empty room on the other side. A surgical table was all that occupied it, along with large, metal rings that were in disarray around it.

"What in..what is that?" Paran asked in amazement. Beaumont shrugged, leading Ash into the room.

"This used to be used for unstable patients." he said vaguely, indicating the table, "Climb onto this table, if you could do so please."

Sitting on the metal surface, Ash pulled his cloak out from under himself, getting it unclipped and dropping it into a pile on the floor under his feet. "Lie down," the doctor ordered as he swung his legs up, sliding down as both Beaumont and Fox started rearranging the rings and holding them up so he could get in the middle of them. As the latter man returned to the group standing on the other side of the glass, the doctor pulled a helmet from under the head of the table, checking the wires on it carefully before gently putting it on Ash's head, over his eyes and ears.

In the control room, Beaumont shut the door and firmly locked it. As he activated the machine, he adjusted the microphone to his level. "I need you to stay as relaxed as you can. I'm going to strap you down before we begin. If something goes wrong, we don't want anyone to get hurt."

There was a pop, and bands of metal erupted from the table, clasping themselves tightly around him, holding his wrists and ankles, and even around his waist to keep him from moving too much. "I'm going to do a scan right now," he continued, as one of the rings made a grinding noise as it lifted, vibrating, and started moving from one end of the table to the other as the lone leg of it disappeared into the floor. On the screens stats showed up quickly, and Beaumont smiled. "Very good." The ring started spinning, holding its position at the top of the table.

"What are the rest for?" May's question was answered immediately, as the table jolted, and the other loops started a dance around it, spinning and tilting at varying speeds.

"A precaution. There's a strong magnetic field in there that's holding everything up. The only reason Ash isn't protected from it like most people would be is because he has electricity running through him naturally." Beaumont clicked some of the buttons, noting the surprised expressions he was seeing when sparks erupted from the rings. He pulled on the microphone. "Alright Ash, here's your part. You need to work on your own mind. Shut down. Do what you have to do to get your counterpart out."

They sat down around the control room to wait, listening to the bleeping the machines made. "Is it working yet?" Paran asked, yawning, after several minutes had gone by. Beaumont shrugged, watching the screens.

"There's not been much different in any of his stats." They groaned. "This could take awhile to do."

Beaumont frowned when he looked up, noticing a subtle difference; Ash's aura had sprung up, dark and translucent, and the Shadow Master had gone still. Looking back down at the stats, he shook his head. "I believe he is saying something," Fox pointed out, and they all watched; indeed, his mouth was moving.

The doctor pushed some new buttons, and the helmet shot a small microphone out, much like a headset. Flipping a switch, they could hear exactly what Ash was saying. "Let...let me out..." The machine started screeching then.

"WARNING! Strong elemental forces building up! WARNING! Strong elemental..." it screamed, and Beaumont quickly rechecked the stats, his eyes widening slightly. The aura flared up, engulfing the rings and stopping them in their tracks. Looking back at the group, he looked at them in amazement.

Their blood ran cold when Ash struggled against the metal bands, growling impatiently, and they broke with loud cracks and snaps. "Oh god no..." May said, leaned over the control panel, staring through the glass in dread as he sat up.

Pulling the helmet off, Ash looked over at them, narrowing his red eyes, and tossing it aside. "That fool will be dead the moment I see him," he mouthed as he picked up his cloak, the statement being unheard because of the glass. Snapping his fingers, Pikachu bolted from beside Lance, shattering the window as he streaked over to be with his Master. With a smirk, Ash blasted the wall next to him, and disappeared out of it.

- - -

"Where are we going?" Paran shouted as she ran alongside Lance, Misty, Fox, and in the lead, May. "Do you know where he's going?"

"Most likely to Cinnabar Volcano!" Fox replied, "That's where...Blaine would be." Lance nodded in agreement, panting.

"The bad part is, anyone around here could get hurt. Who the hell knows what Ash...Mazin'll do to defeat Blaine," Lance said, slowing his steps to a stop to be alongside May, who was staring at the town entrance. Many of the people were standing, surprised expressions on their faces as they stared toward the volcano.

"Miss?" Misty asked, walking toward a nearby woman. She turned and looked at the redhead curiously. Most anybody within earshot did the same. "Did you happen to see a man, about six feet tall? He's got a black cloak, and a Shadow Pikachu with him?"

The woman, along with the others, noticeably paled. "He go that way," a small voice said, and Misty looked down at a small girl next to one of the couples as she pointed toward the silent mass that was the volcano. "His Pikachu all black, and his eyes were red. I scared."

Glancing at the others, she nodded. "Thank you," she said, walking past her. The crowds parted, letting then through as they fearfully looked on; it didn't at all surprise them that the Shadow Master had, somehow, thrown a whole town into fear. "What a great first impression he made."

May sighed wearily. "That's why I don't like it when it's Mazin we're dealing with, and not Ash. At least he's somewhat predictable and won't attack someone heartlessly unless they deserve it."

"I don't know about that, Ash is mighty cruel at times himself." Lance looked up as they neared the base of the great volcano. The slopping side led up to the sky, where a dark purple vortex swirled with power, the wind whistling softly around them. "It's opening!"

"How're we going to get up there before it's too late?" the blonde woman asked. Fox shook his head.

"We'll have to climb it, or use our pokemon," he replied, and May snapped her fingers, pulling a poke ball out.

"Lance, get your Dragonite out!" she said, enlarging the orb, "I'll get out Fiona."

"What's on your mind, May? I know you have a plan." Lance released the Dragon-type, smiling at it, before glancing at her.

"We'll just fly up. It'll take too long to scale the side of it, and if this thing starts erupting, we're screwed."

"That's right. I wouldn't be surprised if this was unstable because of the changes that're going on..." Misty mused, "We'd die immediately."

"Exactly. Come on, we need to make sure Ash is all right." At they were flown up the volcano side, the two pokemon carrying them easily, and alighted on the edge. Sliding off, May and Lance returned their respective pokemon once everyone was safely on their feet.

There were clashes and shouts of both human and pokemon. Looking over at the steam obscured scene, they blanched. Ash's back was to them as he faced down a massive fire unicorn – Rapidash – as it snorted, pawing at the ground. Pikachu was on his head, sprawled out, and Lucia cooed unhappily. "Wow," Paran whispered as the Fire-type charged at the Shadow Master, horn pointed down.

He sidestepped as it passed, yawning in boredom. "For a Master Pokemon, you are too damn slow. I can walk faster then that!" Rapidash neighed, rearing up, hoofs cutting the air. Ash backed off, eyes glowing red, and a shield of electricity formed around him as the unicorn crashed back down and rock pieces flew up and hit the barrier sharply. "Pikachu, Dark Shock."

Pikachu hissed, jumping up and spinning so his tail was pointed at Rapidash, and a thin bolt of Shadow Electricity shot out at the other pokemon, zigzagging through the air towards it. Blaine laughed at them as he stood safely on the other side of the plateau. "I've seen a Pichu that could do better then that-" he started, before falling silent when Rapidash twitched when the bolt struck it, neighing in pain, and keeled over, sparking from the power of Pikachu's attack.

Returning it, Blaine glared at Ash, who returned the gesture. With a pop, Pikachu turned into the Shadow Blade. Holding it out horizontally, the point even with Blaine's chest, Ash scowled. "You fools do nothing but hide behind your precious pokemon and your precious 'abilities' hoping that it'll be enough to hold me off. Don't you know sooner or later I will get you?" A small ball of dark energy formed at the tip of the sword, electricity sparking out of it. "See you in hell, old man."

The ball blasted a beam of shadow energy at Blaine, swallowing him as he tried to get away. "Damn you!" he cried, as the vortex screamed in rage, it's formation slowed, then stopped completely. Ash watched it for several seconds, before turning to look at the group behind him, blinking, as Pikachu returned to normal.

"I think," Ash said softly, "I stopped it just in time." He accepted the embrace he was given by May, closing his eyes, his head bent down. "We have to go to Indigo City now, and finally finish this nonsense with the Gates. If that one opens...good gods, even if this one is mostly closed, all of them'll be open before you can say 'Shadow Pokemon.'"

"Are you sure you feel up to it?" Fox inquired, and Ash nodded slightly.

"I'll be fine."

- - -

Leading the way, Ash walked past the buildings quietly, looking around. Everyone around watched them with rapt attention, eyeing them. "What's up with the people here?" he asked, frowning, "I'd swear they'd seen a ghost."

"Er, actually...you made an interesting first impression on them when you came through the first time I think," May said, and he sighed.

"I really don't want to know what I did," he mumbled.

- - -


	17. Chapter Seventeen: Capturing a Shadow

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Pokemon, its characters, locations, or names. All of them, with the exception of the original characters, belong to Nintendo

Credits: The original fan fiction Shadow League was based off, Pokemon Master, was written by Acey. I retrieved permission before starting this the first time. Kiall and Elizabeth belong to me. "Paran" is the property of Elemental Sorceress, who had requested that I include her in my fan fiction. "Shadow Fox" is the property of Shadow Fox 05, who also requested that I include him in my fan fiction.

A/N: Nothing to say for now.

Warnings: The pairing in this is RivalSibling. This fan fiction has a lot of violence and gore, not to mention some language, and implied rape/sex. Not for kids, that's for sure.

- - -

**Chapter 17: Capturing a Shadow**

The small group slowly walked along the dark tunnel, the entrance of Victory Road far behind, as shadows danced across the ground and walls eerily. It was, at best, uncomfortable being so far in the caves, and in the dark; they knew that at any moment, they could be ambushed by either pokemon or humans.

"Watch out," Lance whispered as he felt the ground under one of his feet disintegrate. He hopped forward to catch Ash by the arm. "I just found a weak spot, and I doubt that was the only one."

He could see the face Ash made in response, and didn't like it. "We'll be fine. It's most likely just small pitfalls anyway, since there isn't supposed to be any levels under this. Not yet."

"Well, even though we might not have to worry about that," Paran said, "I think this we might have to."

"Chuuuu..." Lucia's, and Pikachu's, ears drooped as specks of red light started appearing around them, unblinking and evil. "I don't like this..." May hissed at Ash, who snorted.

"You wouldn't. This is my area, not yours." They stood, looking around at their guests inquiringly. Ash rubbed his thumb against the side of his nose, frowning. "Then again, this isn't exactly a good spot to be admiring the scenery either. Let's move o-"

There was a scream, and he spun around just in time to see Paran being swept up by a Machoke as it growled, red eyes glowing. "Paran!" both May and Lance shouted, and Pikachu raced forward to tackle the fellow Shadow Pokemon, followed closely by Lucia.

Before either of them made it, Fox had beat them to it, another pokemon appearing from behind him – Mewtwo. A powerful psychic blast from the latter send the Machoke wheeling around, dropping Paran, and the two Electric mice finished it off with multiple thunder attacks.

"Time to go!" Ash said hastily, scooping up both the Shadow and the Light pikachus, and took off at a sprint as the others followed, and they heard the sounds of the angry pokemon on all sides of them awakening and moving to attack. "This is exactly why I need to get to Indigo!"

His angry exclamation turned into a shout of surprise when the ground gave out under them, and with a loud crack they fell through. Ash landed on his feet, the momentum throwing him down onto his knees, and he sat panting until someone fell into him, and they both rolled across the rocky ground.

Groaning, Ash turned his head to see who was laying on his back, and ended up with a face full of brown hair. "Dammpphhit!" Pushing it away, Ash scowled when he twisted to look at her. "May, get off me. I need to _breath!_"

"Are you all alright?" Lance asked, pushing himself up off the ground and brushing off. Getting affirmative noises from the two other women and Fox, he looked over at the pair, raising an eyebrow. "Oh, I would have assumed Ash would be on t-"

He jerked back as he felt a shock of electricity; Ash smirked when he saw Pikachu look at him with innocent cobalt eyes, cheeks sparking. "Good boy," he said, and looked at May, shrugging.

"It doesn't look like we were followed," Misty pointed out, looking up at the hole above them. "And I don't see or hear any around here...it might be a good to camp out here and rest?"

"Yes, because we certainly won't get any when we finally get into Indigo City. It'll be swarming with League people." After the nods of agreement, they set out getting their camp together for the night.

- - -

"Hey, Ash, are you all right?" Misty asked, looking up at him. He had been quietly walking around the cavern, looking at the faint carvings in the walls. Pulling his cloak tighter around himself, he nodded.

"I'm fine." The redhead glanced at the others, wondering if any of them had noticed the sudden change of emotion in the Shadow Master; he had seemed quite fine helping to get the fire together, but at that moment was more restless.

"May!" she whispered, pulling on her sleeve, "Is something wrong with Ash? He's acting rather strange."

"I'll go see what's up," the brunette replied, quickly ordering the two pikachus to stay behind, and running to catch up to Ash before he wandered too far off. "Wait up!"

Ash looked back at her, his steps neither slowing nor stopping. Knowing that she wouldn't manage to slow him down by asking, May concentrated on the ground in front of him, and watched it it froze over with a thin layer of ice. The plan, however, backfired when ice skating blades formed from Shadow energy under his boots as he stepped onto the ice; he did a slow turn and stopped, tapping the ice with the toe of his boot. "What's the game, May?" he asked impatiently.

"You've been acting strange today," she said, skating over to be beside him, and Ash turned around, continuing in a new direction.

"I'm not." He scowled as she followed closely behind. "Go away, I don't need a damn babysitter."

"I never said you did!" May reached for his hand, and Ash pulled away from her. "I'm worried about you, all right? You just seem...upset over something, and I don't know why. I'd think that of all times, this would be one when you'd be happy." She looked away thoughtfully, then back at him. "We're nearly to the city! You'll be able to-"

"Wait." Ash slowed to a stop, swinging around to look at her. "You think I should be happy? What the hell for, May? We're nearly there alright, nearly in the place that has caused me more pain that should of ever been possible? Just so I can save this world, because it can't handle what is happening to it, and can't take care of it itself?"

"Ash-" May started, and was cut off abruptly.

"You know, I left the League and Indigo, thinking that I'd never step foot near here again, regardless of the reason, but you know what? That's already being destroyed as we speak." Ash scowled. "And everyone likes to talk about the fact that I left, that I went off on my own against them, always asking why, wondering why, trying to figure it out..but wouldn't you know it, no one bothers to ask. Not a single one."

"Why'd you leave?" He glanced at her, and gently stepped off the ice patch.

"I originally joined the League because it was the only place I could go. I was lucky that Kiall didn't order my immediate capture or death, but I suppose he thought that if he had me under his supervision, that I couldn't cause any trouble. When I was able to I started being sent out on some assignments here and there, usually on the raids that were to keep the towns small and only required us to kill and nothing more." Ash shook his head, taking a deep breath. "I was such a naïve fool back then...I'd ask about the other raids that I wasn't allowed to go on, and they'd just giggle, but I thought nothing of it until I actually followed them to see what they were doing that they didn't want me around."

Ash bit his lip thoughtfully, walking again until he finally reached a dead, looking down the canyon in front of him. "It was normal enough, the violence, the death...but..." He sucked in another breath, the images that flooded back brining with them dread. "I had already had my doubts and was growing tired of the League and having to do as it wanted. But when I saw what I did...I truly started hating it then."

May slipped her hand around his, squeezing tightly as he continued the rambling story. "I've done so much that I shouldn't have, May. I've spilled more blood then all of you combined, I've massacred a whole town, even now when it's all of my own free will and choice I still take lives as easy as I breath. Yet what I saw them do that day made all of it so...insignificant." Ash shook his head. "She was only a child. Just a little girl that'd gotten separated from her parents in the mess they were creating, and one of the Trainers...right there in front of me, he had stooped to such a low level as to rape a child her age. It was bad enough seeing it happening to the grown women and not being able to stop it, but to a little girl?"

May watched him carefully. "And...then here I am, going head on against the very thing that had been my savior from myself back then. And I'm all on my own doing it."

"You're not on your own." May hugged him, her forehead pressed against his shoulder. "You've never been alone. You had Pikachu, and now you have Lance and Misty, and Paran and Fox." Getting up on her toes, she nuzzled him, and Ash tilted his head down. "And you have me and Lucia, too."

He smiled weakly. "I'm sorry. Everything is so screwed up, what with being poisoned before and all. I never thought they could find a way to hurt me that badly."

"It's enough to turn your world upside down, isn't it?" she asked. Ash frowned then, looking at her.

"Yes, pretty much."

- - -

"Be quiet! Do you want to wake any of them up?!" whispered a hushed voice, as they slapped their partner across the back of the head.

"I'm sorry, geez! What're we trying to do here anyway?"

"We're to use this-" he started, holding up a small poke ball, "-to catch that damn traitor and that abomination he calls a pokemon."

"Eh, what? How'll that work out? He isn't a pokemon."

"You'll see." Sneaking around the rock they were hiding behind, he crept into the cavern where the snoozing group was. "Abra, go."

"Aaaaabraaaaa," the small Psychic pokemon cooed sleepily.

"I want you to search out Ashura," its owner ordered, and Abra started glowing dimly as it put its powers to work. After several seconds it pointed in the right direction, and they started walking again. "We need to get that pesky rat out of the way before we do anything. Justin, go make rounds and make sure no one else is awake."

"Yes, Royce," Justin said, padding away quietly. Enlarging the custom poke ball, he crept over to the snoozing Pikachu, and smirked; the Shadow creature had been right where he'd assumed it would be, near his Master.

Royce snickered as he tossed the ball at the still form, and watched as Pikachu was pulled into the black and blue ball, making a quick cry of surprise just as the the orb closed around him, clasping shut with a snap. He flinched when he saw Ash move, and relaxed again when he saw it had only been to turn over.

The ball rolled about the ground wildly, bouncing and banging off the stone, until it finally clicked again and went still. Picking it up and tossing it up in the air once happily, the older of the two League mean pocketed it as Justin returned, frowning. "You got the Pokemon?" the younger of the two asked, and he nodded, "How're we going to get Ashura?"

"The same exact way."

"Everyone will wake up though! He won't go in there quietly, you know that." Royce glared at him.

"No, I never would have thought!" Pulling out the twin of the first poke ball, he rolled his eyes. "Just worry about his girlfriend. She's going to cause more of a ruckus then he'll be able to."

Ash listened to them argue, peeking an eye open carefully. _Those bastards captured Pikachu?_, he thought angrily, and sought with his mind the traces of his companion pokemon, and found only what had been there before the capture. _God dammit._

As the second poke ball was thrown, he swung himself up, batting it away with a sweep of his hand. "Abra!" Royce snapped, "Get it!"

The ball glowed as it floated in midair, and Royce snatched it back before Ash could get it. Giving his pokemon a look, Abra cooed softly, and Ash felt like he'd had a rope tied around him, holding him in place. "Good night, Shadow Master," he sneered, letting the poke ball go.

When it, as with Pikachu, pulled the enraged man into its depths, it wobbled about, clicking coming from it as he struggled to be free of it. For a split second the orb cracked open again, before shutting and continuing to bounce around. "Hold on..." Royce said.

The button flashed as there was a clink. "We got 'em!" Justin shouted, grabbing the poke ball and dancing around.

"You damn fool!" Royce hissed, grabbing it and smacking him. "Do you know what you just did-"

There was a screech, and they were faced by the legendary ice bird. "Ice Beam!" a voice behind it yelled.

"Aw shit, I'm out!" Justin said, scrambling to get away as Fiona opened her beak, and a beam of blue energy shot out and froze him in his tracks. He twitched.

"Abra, Teleport!" Royce and his pokemon disappeared with a pop. There were groans and mutterings from the waking Masters as Justin stood in his half frozen prison.

"What in..what's going on?" Paran asked, rubbing her eyes sleepily as she came up on May, who recalled Fiona to her poke ball. "Where'd Ash go?"

"I don't know...I don't know, but I think this guy does," May said, and Justin shuddered from the cold.

"It's the Shadow Ball! They've been working for years trying to perfect it, even when Ashura was in the League." he said, and they looked at him inquiringly, "They'd planned on using it if he ever went against Master Kiall or against the League, and they only just finished it about two weeks ago."

"It's a poke ball, then?" the Ice-turned-Light Master asked, her eyes widening slightly, "But, how's that possible? Ash is a human, just like the rest of us, he isn't a pokemon."

"I don't know! I guess he is some bit, but I don't know anything else or how it works! Royce and I were just sent to get him and that pikachu of his." He sighed in relief when May nodded to Paran, and she melted the ice with a blast of fire.

"Get out of my sight, before I turn you into an ice statue and not turn you back." Justin ran when the block finished melting completely, looking back at them from over his shoulder. Wearily, May turned to the restless group. "Well, I think we need to find that other man and figure out how to get Ash out of that poke ball, and to get Pikachu too. I'm afraid to find out what'll happen if we don't."

- - -

Royce tossed the Shadow Ball as he walked, catching it, then repeating the process. "Now we can get on with things without being bothered by this fool. He wasn't so tough," he laughed, and smirked.

That was, until the orb started glowing eerily, wiggling in his hand. Eyeing it, Royce looked at it closely to inspect the curious item, and was rewarded with having it bounce up and hit him in the face. "Blargh."

The poke ball dropped and opened, and Royce froze as the energy let out formed back into the irritated Shadow Master. "What the hell is wrong with you?" Ash snapped, advancing on him, "Give me the other one, now."

Shivering, Royce pulled it out, regarding the polished surface, and tossed it toward one of the multiple canyon-like pits. Growling, Ash flung himself after it, nearly sliding over the edge as his fingers clasped around the poke ball. He sighed with relief. "Come on out," he said, letting the pokemon out.

"Chuuuuu!" Pikachu hissed angrily, cheeks sparking. Ash rose to look at Royce, who slowly backed off, clutching the other poke ball tightly.

"Pikachu," Ash ordered softly, "Shadow Blade."

- - -

"Pika..." Lucia followed her Master quietly, peeking around at the dark shadows that covered Victory Road. Her ears perked up. "Chuuu!"

"What is it?" May asked, taking chase after the small white pikachu, and slowing her steps when she came up to a limp body laying on the ground. Lucia poked at it with a paw, wrinkling her nose. "Oh my god...who is this? Who did this?"

Turning him over, she gasped. He was a bloody mess, his face and head cleanly cut in half, and slash marks and electrical burns covering his body, blood flowing from the wounds, forming a puddle below him. Making a face, Misty picked the Shadow Ball out of the sticky mess, regarding the gold band on it carefully. "Is that the..." Lance started.

"Yes, I think so." May frowned at them. Fox was about to point out the fact that it was empty when a glint of light caught his eye, and he glanced up to see Ash sitting discreetly on a high ledge, his legs swinging, and Pikachu sitting on his lap. He smiled vaguely, and looked at them.

"It would seem Ash isn't in there?" Fox asked, and Paran shook her head as she took the poke ball, and cracked it open.

"He got out of the League's grasp once again?" she asked, and they – with the exception of Fox – jumped when they heard laughter.

"You'd be absolutely right about that." Looking up to see the source, smiles broke out on their faces.

"Ash! What happened?" Misty asked as he leaped down to land gracefully on his feet, cloak settling back down around his body.

"Oh, who knows. That guy somehow got me into that ball and when he was here I managed to wiggle my way out and to let Pikachu out, and...well, I don't think it necessary to go on in gory detail about what happened, you can see for yourself," he replied simply, squeezing May when she stepped into his embrace.

"Did you really need to butcher him?" she asked, and he looked at the mutilated corpse thoughtfully.

"Hm. Yes?" May sighed, but smiled nonetheless, listening to the snickers of the others.

"You'll never learn, will you?" she said dryly, "Let's go on to Indigo."

- - -


	18. Chapter Eighteen: Entering Indigo City

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Pokemon, its characters, locations, or names. All of them, with the exception of the original characters, belong to Nintendo

Credits: The original fan fiction Shadow League was based off, Pokemon Master, was written by Acey. I retrieved permission before starting this the first time. Kiall and Elizabeth belong to me. "Paran" is the property of Elemental Sorceress, who had requested that I include her in my fan fiction. "Shadow Fox" is the property of Shadow Fox 05, who also requested that I include him in my fan fiction.

A/N: Ignoring the fact that I'm getting lazy again, I do have some good news. I'm going to be taking Japanese classes now. XD So I can finally learn the language like I want to. Wheeee. So..yeah.

As for the story, there isn't much to say, once again. Though, one thing I still have yet to figure out, is how one of the characters doesn't know about Ash. Just about everyone else did, except for this one...and...I don't think I'll ever figure out why or how. Maybe one of you readers can? XD

Warnings: The pairing in this is RivalSibling. This fan fiction has a lot of violence and gore, not to mention some language, and implied rape/sex. Not for kids, that's for sure.

- - -

**Chapter 18: Entering Indigo City**

Ash held a hand out to stop them from continuing when he peeked around a corner, narrowing his eyes. He could hear people talking, two of them, and nodded. Recognizing one, his eyes lit up, and he smiled. "Perhaps I shouldn't run around with this, eh?" he said, letting his cloak melt into nothing.

Ready for the city, they walked toward the two guards, trying to look as unsuspicious as they could. "Halt!" one of the two shouted, and they looked at him questioningly.

"Is there a problem?" Lance asked lightly, and he eyed them.

"Names?" he barked out, and Ash gently pushed Lance back, smiling slightly. He looked at the glaring guards name tag – even though he already knew his name, having known him when he was still in the League – and nodded slightly.

"Nik, you need to let us in," he whispered to him, tipping his head slightly. Ash paused, running a list of names through his mind, and shrugged. "I'm Mazin, this girl by me is Nadia, the redhead is Rosemary, the blond is Leta, then the two other guys are Vincent and Quinn."

The guard, Nik, smirked slightly, and looked toward his companion. "Well, normally we'd have to do background checks, but since you seem like gentle enough people, you may enter," he said, stepping out of their way with a bow.

Before Ash could take even two steps, the other guard interrupted them, grabbing hold of his shoulder. "No," he said slowly, "this man here, he looks like..."

Raising an eyebrow, Ash looked at him. "Who, exactly, do I look like?" he asked, and was given a worried look by May.

The second guard scowled. "You look like Master Ashura, that son of a bitch who is trying to tear up all of our work," he growled.

"Oh, lay off him," Nik shushed, waving them through, "you know as well as I do he wouldn't come in this way, if he's coming here at all. Go on through, eh...Mazin."

"Mm, that got a bit tight there." May remarked when they were out of the guards' earshot, "How'd you come up with those alias' so quickly?"

"Luck." Ash frowned, looking around thoughtfully. "It doesn't look much different then it did before. We better get moving before we get into trouble."

"Which I'm sure you'll manage to get us into anyway." Ash glared at May, who shrugged innocently. "What?"

"I am going to pretend that I didn't hear you say that," he growled. Throwing himself down on a bench, he looked at them. "We should most likely try to rest before trying to find our way around here."

"I feel like I'm about to fall over dead." Lance took a seat on the next bench, leaving room for Misty to join him. "We've been up since four this morning..."

Their quiet discussion was ended when a harsh voice started yelling close by. "God dammit, how many times must I tell you/ If Master Kiall orders use to be on the look out for Ashura, we will damn well be on the look out for Ashura! Have I made made myself clear yet?"

Nervously, Ash glanced toward the voice, and visibly paled at the sight of the one man he had hoped he wouldn't see any time soon. When the angry man turned to face their direction, Ash pulled May over, and whispered softly to her. "I'm sorry."

Her questioning look went unanswered as he kissed her on the cheek, then the neck. As a handful of the League's Guard went by, he glanced over meekly as he heard the lead man still talking about him. "I was a General, even back then. That idiot was annoying as ever, following me around and interrupting my sessions. Bugging me about total nonsense. Asking me about the raids he didn't go on, asking about this, asking about that...bah, needed to get on with his life if you ask me. If he wasn't training with that fool pokemon of his, he was off getting on someone's nerves, whether it be some Trainers', a Master's, or mine."

"I'm not the idiot here," Ash growled, glaring in his direction, and felt May flinch. "Grant is."

"Oh, great job, Ash!" Lance snapped when Grant turned to regard them, his eyes narrowed. The general's eyes widened slightly, before he focused on Ash.

"What in blazes? How in hell did you get in here?!" The soldiers – Masters and Trainers, mainly, it appeared – watched them silently as Grant advanced on him. Ash quickly stood, purposely not even acknowledging it when Paran started to try to talk to him.

"What can I say, I'm just that good." Ash smirked, letting Pikachu climb up to balance on his shoulders. "I don't know about anyone else, but I for one can not allow a nitwit of a man to call me an idiot, when he is one himself."

"How dare you!" Grant roared, glaring at his soldiers, "What the hell are you all doing? SEIZE THEM!"

"Run, all of you! I'll keep them back!" Ash shouted, and Lance, Fox and Misty took off in one direction, with May, Lucia, and Paran going another, leaving Ash and Pikachu to fend off the hordes.

"They split into groups!" one of the Trainers said, "What'll we do, General?"

"Gah, you split into the same number of groups, you brain dead moron!" Grant snarled, "Some of you, stay with me! I'll need help in handling Ashura."

"Oh, and why is that, Grant? If I'm such a terribly annoying idiot, shouldn't it be a breeze for you to capture me alone?" the Shadow Master asked coolly, smiling as he stepped back, letting his cloak form around him. His eyes didn't stray from Grant or the small army behind him. "I could take out every single one of you if I really wanted to."

Grant stared at him, not even flinching. "You'd dare try it, inside of Indigo City? You are surrounded by more Masters and Trainers here, then even you and the Light Mistress together could beat!"

"You think I should care? I can get to your precious Master even with the whole of this city on the look out for me. You'll be begging for mercy after I get through with all of you." Ash folded his arms against his chest, cocking his head and giving Grant a haughty smile. "Scared, General? I wouldn't blame you, as I have been able to defeat Sabrina, Agatha, and Blaine, not to mention Aerodactia and Blaine's Rapidash. And I've fought the League army countless times."

Grant knew what game Ash was playing; he was trying to bait him into giving a reaction. "Scared? Ha! I would never be scared of someone, especially someone the likes of _you_!"

"The likes of me?" he asked, and glared at a Trainer that dared to step forward to attack; they cowered down behind one of their comrades, getting disgusted looks from most of them.

Grant smirked. Ash had backed into a wall, surrounded by the army, and Pikachu's cheeks sparked dangerously; both knew it was a bad position to be in. Quickly glancing up, Ash saw his only way of getting out of the situation quickly. "SEIZE HIM!" the general hollered.

Pikachu leaped up, kicking off the wall to gain more height, and disappeared onto the rooftop. Following suit, Ash did the same, having to dodge the attacks of the Masters. With one last kick, Ash flipped onto the roof, and peeked down at them. "Nice try, Grant!" he called down, smirking, "But not quite good enough!"

Before they could make moves to follow him up, Ash took off at a run when Pikachu jumped back up onto his shoulder. He frowned. "Pika?" the pokemon asked.

"It's no good. With them going to be on alert now, I'm going to have to watch out for any members. I'd like to go find the others, but it's just putting them in more danger then they need to be," he mused, swiftly jumping from rooftop to rooftop, ignoring the afternoon sunlight that beat down on him. "I might be better to wait until evening...I stick out like a neon sigh in this light."

"Chu, pikapi..." Ash shrugged, and slipped down onto the ground, taking to the back allies until he was in the housing district. Quietly sliding the window of the first house open, he slipped in, hoping it was empty; he found out it wasn't.

"Who're you?" a small voice asked, and Ash peered at the small child that stood staring up at him curiously.

_Oh shit_ Smiling slightly, he bent down to be at his level. "Where's your parents?" he asked gently, and the boy looked toward what Ash assumed was the kitchen.

"Mommy!" Frowning, a young woman walked in, wiping her hands.

"What is it?" she asked, before looking at Ash, "Oh, who're you?"

Ash brushed his hair back out of his face, sighing. "What, is that the question of the day today?" Realizing she actually had a reason for asking, he shrugged. "My name's Ashura."

Even though he knew he was probably about to get attacked, he put his hand out in hopes that she wouldn't report him if it appeared that he wasn't purposely trying to break into her house. "Ashura?" she echoed, walking toward him, looking at him curiously, and circled him, disbelief etching across her face. "Ashura...I can't believe it." she murmured, stopping to stand in front of him, a smile forming, "It's been years. Do you remember me?"

Ash tilted his head slightly, looking at her thoughtfully. As Pikachu slid off his shoulders, he shook his head. "I can't say...well...I'm not sure. You look sort of familiar..." he admitted.

"Remember any teenagers you used to talk to?" He snickered, the woman's name surfacing from the depths of his memory.

"I remember a few. How're you doing, Destiny?" he asked, "I'm...er...sorry about the entrance. I really didn't think it bright running around in broad daylight, and this was the closest house."

"Oh, don't worry about it. Just be grateful you barged in here and not into the neighbor's house." As she led him to the dining room, which was where her son had ran off to and was colouring in, she continued talking. "Everything is alright, though what's happening with you?"

Ash sighed. "Well, I'd hoped to get to the League headquarters without making any trouble beforehand. Call it sneaking in, if you like. Though when I first came in, General Grant decided to show his ugly face, and...well, you can imagine that it didn't go so well when he started insulting me to the soldiers." He sat down at the table with her.

"Aha. You got into a fight with him again, didn't you?" she asked. He nodded slowly.

"What else? So now I have to stay low until nighttime before I can even think of going over to the headquarters." Ash chewed on his lip. "I'm rather obvious in daylight," he added, and Destiny laughed.

"Yes, of course, you would be. Why don't you stay until dinnertime? You can rest up, and then can have a bite to eat before you go off to do what you have to do?" Destiny suggested, and Ash learned his chair onto its hind legs, rocking back and forth.

"Hmm...that's a good idea. Tonight's not going to be easy. Where do I go?"

"Just down the hall. It's the last door on the right." Nodding, he stood, and walked out.

- - -

"Of all the bushes...did we really need to hide in this one? It's a thrickel bush!" May sighed, picking the thorns out of her sleeves. Paran laid next to her, peering out at the street.

"It isn't my fault that we have to sit and hide in bushes! If Ash hadn't made a fuss when Grant was being a jerk, we wouldn't have to hide at all!" she whined.

"Well, he didn't have to go off insulting Ash like he did either." May added, "I admit, I think he overreacted, but...did they not get along all that well before? It sounded like they knew each other."

"I think so. Grant mentioned something about Ash following him around all the time and bothering him. What was that all about?" Paran asked. The brunette frowned, and shrugged.

"I don't know."

- - -

In another part of the city, Lance, Misty, and Fox sat in an alleyway, discussing plans on what they could do next. "Who knows where they are?" Lance said, "We can either go look for May and Paran first, or go look for Ash."

"Paran knows her way around already, so I'm assuming they'll be fine on their own. Ash hasn't been around here lately, so..." Misty replied. Lance shook his head.

"Ah, but he said it hadn't changed much since the last time he'd been here." Fox frowned at them.

"It's pointless looking for Ash. You know as well as I do that the minute that we were to get within five feet of the League Headquarters, he'd run off again anyway." Lance pointed out, "It might be better to group back up with May and Paran."

"That's true." the Water Master admitted reluctantly, "He won't want us involved in his fights. That's why he left early at Cerulean for Sabrina, after all, even though his plan did backfire."

"Let's go find them then," Fox said, standing up warily. Doing the same, Misty and Lance followed him out of the alley.

- - -

"Mister, you've gotta wake up!" a girl's voice said. Ash mumbled under his breath, turning over. Scowling, Pikachu crawled out from under him. "Mommy said to come wake you up. It's dinnertime!"

"Five more minutes, kid," he said, pulling the pillow over his face. Blinking, she walked out, returning once again with Destiny several minutes later.

"Come on Ash. You need to have some dinner!" Ash twisted to look at her, irritation evident on his face.

"What time is it?" he asked, stretching out lazily, and pushing the blanket off.

"Six in the evening." she replied, "I'll leave so you can get ready. Come on Rach."

"I wanna stay here," Rachel whined, and Destiny sighed. She looked at Ash.

"Do you mind if she stays in here?" she asked, and he shook his head. "I want you to behave, young lady. Don't badger him, right?"

"Yes Mommy." As Destiny left, Rachel propped her head up on her hands, elbows on the bed as she watched Ash. He swung his legs over the side, and bent down to reach for his boots. "Why's your pikachu black?"

As he pulled them on, checking to make sure they were snug, Ash shrugged. "It's because Pikachu is a Shadow Pokemon," he said, and Rachel walked around to look up at him thoughtfully.

"Whatsa Shadow Pokemon?" she asked curiously, and Ash picked her up gently to sit her on his lap.

"What's a Shadow Pokemon? Well, I guess you could say they are like any of the other pokemon, except that they are dark, like Pikachu, and have red eyes. They're stronger then normal ones too." She looked at him.

"But why doesn't yours have red eyes too?" Pikachu's ears flattered, clearly miffed at such a question.

"I'm not too sure." Ash shrugged. "I guess he's just special." Rachel jumped down, and pointed at his cloak.

"Are you going to put that on?" she asked, and he picked it up from its place on the back of a chair, where he had flung it haphazardly. He nodded.

"My cloak? Yes." He fastened the clasp at his neck, tapping it for good measure, and smiled when she looked at him in awe. Ash pulled the hood up over his head and face, a shadow falling over his features.

"You're scary looking," Rachel mumbled, and Ash grinned, picking her up.

"Oh, I _am_ scary! I am the evil shadow demon!" he growled, swinging her up to sit on his shoulders, and ducked down as he ran out of the room to avoid the door frame. Destiny froze in surprise when Ash bolted past her.

"Woah!" Ash had to skid to a stop when he near ran into another man, his boots sending up sparks on the tile flooring. Rachel giggled in delight. "I take it that you're the Ashura I've been hearing about?"

Ash nodded as they looked at each other critically. "Yeah, that's me. You're Destiny's husband?" he asked, getting a nod in return.

"That's me. The name's Dallas." He sat down at the table – which was already set for dinner, with five placements – heavily.

"I'm surprised at how good with children you are, Ash. You always did seem to have a thing with them," Destiny said as she walked in behind him. She smiled. "Could you get her into her seat?"

"Noooooo," Rachel squeal, refusing when Ash moved to let her down, "I wanna keep playing!"

"Maybe after dinner we'll play more," he soothed, letting her slide off, and sat down once she was seated.

Once dinner was underway, Destiny turned to Ash. "Did you ever find that girl you had been crying over?" she asked, and he nearly dropped his silverware in surprise.

"Oh yeah, I found her. Though it was actually more like she'd found me." She noted the smile Ash suddenly had. It didn't appear forced like it had been years ago; it was genuine. "We're even Bonded."

"Bonded?" Dallas asked politely. Ash nodded.

"Yes. I'm not sure how to explain it. I guess it has something to do with our Elements."

Dallas spit his drink out, shock evident on his face when he looked at him. "Elements? You're a Master?" he said, "Shadow Master?"

"Even though most people know this already, yes, I am." Dallas turned to Destiny angrily.

"Destiny!" he snapped, "You know how I feel about all of these damn Masters!" She was quiet for a minute.

"Yes, of course I know." she replied waspishly, "You never stop nagging me about them usually."

"Then why in hell didn't you tell me he was one?!" he asked, pointing at Ash, who stared back at him loathingly. Destiny frowned.

"Because I knew how you'd react. We were better off without you knowing about it." she said, "Ash, could you please do me a favor? Take Rachel and Sirius to their room and watch them for me? Just for a few minutes?"

Nodding, Ash stood as Rachel helped her little brother out of his own chair, and started toward the living room with them when Dallas rushed over to stop them. Peeved, Ash rose an eyebrow. "Do you have a problem?" he asked, his voice sickly sweet. The venomous undertone didn't go undetected by the other man, who moved out of the way.

As they got into the bedroom and Sirius crawled into his bed to make a fort out of his blankets, they could hear Dallas and Destiny arguing in the kitchen. It took nearly an hour before there was the sound of the front door opening then slamming shut, then silence. The woman walked in frowning, and shook her head. "I'm so sorry, Ash. He can't seem to get it through his head that not all Masters are total monsters." she said, "Dallas had no right to react like that, and to treat you like he did."

"If I had known, I wouldn't of bothered saying anything." Destiny shook her head again, and frowned at him. "Ugh, it seems like I've screwed up again. That's been happening a bit too often lately."

"No...oh, no! You haven't, not at all! I've had that issue with him for awhile now, it wasn't you that caused it." She smiled slightly. "Look at Rachel. She's usually very shy around strangers, but she's been giggling and talking to you and everything." Ash was silent, letting Pikachu jump up onto his shoulder.

"I've got to get going. I need to get to the headquarters before daybreak." He tugged on his gloves restlessly, and looked out the window, pulling his hood forward again to hide his face.

"Why don't you go through the door this time?" Destiny asked as he edged the window open, and poked his head out to look around. He slid a leg out to sit on the ledge.

"Nah. That's too obvious, and this is just easier," he replied, and the two children ran over to see what he was doing.

"Where're you going, mister?" Rachel asked, pulling on his sleeve, "You're supposed to play with me!"

Ash forced a smile. "I'm in a bit of a hurry, so I have to go. But I'll come back later, and I'll play with you then!" he quickly apologized, jumping up to get onto the roof. Destiny hung out to look up at him.

"Be careful Ash! There'll be a lot of Trainers and Masters patrolling the streets since it's dark out," she warned him, and he nodded, thanking her for mentioning it, and started his short journey, jumping from house roof to house roof rapidly.

- - -


	19. Chapter Nineteen: The Intruder

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Pokemon, its characters, locations, or names. All of them, with the exception of the original characters, belong to Nintendo

Credits: The original fanfiction Shadow League was based off, Pokemon Master, was written by Acey. I retrieved permission before starting this the first time. "Paran" is the property of Elemental Sorceress, who had requested that I include her in my fanfiction. "Shadow Fox" is the property of Shadow Fox 05, who also requested that I include him in my fanfiction.

A/N: I have been so busy, it isn't even funny. But now I'm out of school, things are calming down, so all is well, and I'm hoping to get the rest of the story up soon. Hopefully. We'll see.

Warnings: The pairing in this is RivalSibling. This fan fiction has a lot of violence and gore, not to mention some language, and implied rape/sex. Not for kids, that's for sure.

- - -

**Chapter 19: The Intruder **

Crouching down, Ash peered around the corner to watch, waiting for the patrolling Master to pass by in the night. There was a meow as a stray cat brushed against his legs, and he glared at it heatedly, before creeping out and darting across the street, Pikachu hot on his heels; both kept a wary eye on the Master, frowning when he turned around just as they disappeared into the alley.

Leaping up, Ash climbed up onto the roof of one of the buildings, sighing. When Pikachu climbed onto his shoulder, he smiled tiredly. _Well, only half a city left to go_, he thought, and his pokemon's head tilted slightly in response. _Thanks, big help you are._

The rodent snickered when the dark haired man swattered at him.

- - -

"Dammit, this is getting annoying!" May whispered harshly, grinding her teeth angrily. Her and Param weren't making as good time as Ash was; they were still in a small housing area, and any time they went to make a run for it, another group of patrolling Masters would appear nearby, hindering them from doing so. "What the hell is with this?"

"Do you think Ash is having this same problem?" the blonde asked quietly. The question brought an image of the Shadow Master hiding on a rooftop or in one of the darker alleys, and May shrugged. "What if we tried getting their attention? They'd call the others to come after us, and that would leave the way clear for him."

"Not a good idea. Until we can get to Misty and them, we aren't doing anything of the sort," May replied, quickly trotting across the street, Paran following her, when the coast was finally clear.

Sirens started going off, and the Masters guarding the street took off toward the city entrance, shouting to alert any stragglers that they had to move. Frowning, May followed them in the safety of the shadows. "What's going on?" her companion asked.

"I think they had the same idea as you did," May reluctantly answered.

- - -

"And, how precisely, are we supposed to be able to fight them all?" Misty asked, glaring at Lance as the Masters surrounded them. "If only Ash hadn't told us to run off! I wish he'd come back."

"For once, we're not going to wait around for Ash to come in and save our hides!" Lance snapped, "He has more important things to do right now, like taking care of Kiall and Gary!"

"True." she said, frowning deeply, "I wonder how he's doing. I expected to hear something from that direction hours ago..."

"Who the hell cares?!" Fox asked, "Let's worry about getting out of this alive, and leave Ash's fate to him! We'll find out soon enough!"

"We might have some help coming in now," the bright haired Dragon Master mused, glancing around warily as he fought off the Trainers that came in attacking, weapons swinging and getting separated from Misty.

"Who?" she called over the sound of battle, and Lance nodded toward the right. The other two glanced in the direction, and saw both May and Paran hiding in the dark, Lucia sticking her nose out to sniff; the former Master released a sneasel, muttering an order. The holy Electric-type darted forward, cheeks sparking as the Thunderbolt attack was sent out to electrocute a handful of the closest League members.

Fox let out Mewtwo, as a Dragonite and Suicune was also released. Several of the Masters and Trainers looked hesitant to get any closer to the trio, and even more so to use any of their pokemon. Some even backed away. "Those are two Master Pokemon," a few gasped out.

Dragonite and Mewtwo advanced threateningly, with almost evil smirks; they were the two that the frightened men and women were referring to, and they knew it. "What are you all waiting for?" one of the Generals asked, pulling his weapon out and charging at Paran. "Attack!"

- - -

As the sirens went off around the city, Ash's head snapped up. Masters and Trainers alike were running toward the entrance of Indigo City; Pikachu peeked over his shoulder at the chaos of the event, ears twitching. "What in hell is going on?" he said, and sighed, rubbing a hand against his face when he heard shouts about intruders, "I can't believe this."

The streets were virtually vacant, except for the occasional animal or pokemon. His eyes widened as he scanned over the area for any sign of a Master, or even a Trainer, and found none. "Those morons," Ash muttered as he jumped to the next building, "I'll most likely end up having to get them out the grave they're digging now!"

"Piiiiika, pikachu pi chi," Pikachu said, hiding in his backpack as Ash took another leap. The human yelped, and swore quietly when he felt a sharp tug on his cloak; at the last jump, it had caught on a tree branch.

"You think they're getting sighted on purpose?" he asked, and Pikachu nodded. When he pulled his cloak off to check the damage, he sighed again. "Today is just not my day."

The branch, when it snagged, had torn a great hole in the material. Putting a hand over it so that energy would form over it and patch the tear, he looked across to the next rooftop. "That's too far for me to try to jump. It might be better to foot the rest of the way. Think we should?"

"Pika."

- - -

As Misty struggled against the hold one of the Masters had on her, she frowned, and pulled her dagger out to thrust it into his abdomen. Blood spilled out of the wound, as he let go to clutch at it, trying to stop the blood flow, stumbling backwards. Suicune fought several pokemon at one time, using her various attacks such as Hydro Slam - which consisted of her turning to solid water and slamming down onto the opponent - and Waterfall.

"Damn you Ash...he's better not get in trouble after all this trouble that we're going through for him!" May seethed, freezing several Masters, panting, "If he even dares to get captured again, he won't have to worry about the League anymore, because I'll kill him personally!"

"Do us a favor and take your anger out on the Masters!" Fox suggested to her, slicing the head off another cleanly, and instantly moving in on a Trainer, dodging a stray fireball he nearly backed into that Paran had thrown.

"I don't understand how Ash has managed to keep from being turned into a human ice cube, when someone or something gets frozen whenever you get angry," Paran said, shooting off more fire as some Masters got too close for comfort.

"I can control who I attack," May said, looking at Lucia quickly to see that she was throwing out electric attacks as fast as the other pokemon were attacking her. "And anyway, I'm lenient with him. It isn't his fault that he's stubborn as a bull and can be twice as dense at times. I don't know if he took after his parents or what."

"His mother was neither, so I'd say he probably took after daddy," Misty mused, throwing out a stream of bubbles. May let Fiona out, freezing the Master advancing on her at last minute.

"Whatever happened to them?" Lance asked, jumping back so he was beside her. She frowned.

"They died."

- - -

Ash looked around the brightly lit hall wearily. No one was around to catch him, and it didn't help to settle his nerves. "Something about this isn't right," he said, "There's no one on guard, even though they _had_ to of known I was on my way." He frowned. "It's like they _want _me to arrive."

"Chuuu." He dove behind the guard's counter when he heard voices, and looked over it cautiously. Slowly, he crept out from behind the counter, keeping low to the floor as he took note of his surroundings again. He shook his head, standing up again when it was obvious no one was approaching, and looked around before finally taking to continuing, turning a corner at the end of the hall, and freezing when he saw three woman that were blocking his way.

They were giggling loudly, oblivious to his presence, until one looked up with wide eyes. "Oh!" she said, startled, and smiled, "Hello, Master Ashura!"

_Aha...this is going to get annoying fast_, he thought when they giggled again, all three smiling widely. "Hello girls," Ash said, giving them a fake cheerful look, "What're you all doing here?"

"We've missed you very much!" another one squealed, getting nods of agreement from the other two. Ash's expression darkened when he remembered who they were, and even Pikachu groaned.

"Especially your lessons!" the last one added on, and they chattered annoyingly; Ash blinked. "Being taught by such a strong and handsome teacher on how to fight!..."

He scowled slightly when he felt his face heat up in embarrassment, and mentally kicked himself for allowing such a thing to bubble up. "I'm sorry, I have to move on. I have a battle I must get to." he said, and all three of them looked at him, their eyes darkened and sad.

"We...can't let you pass, Master Ashura," one of them said, her face strained. Pikachu's ears perked up. "We can't let you."

"_What?_" Ash took a step back as she ran forward, flying up for the heel of her shoe to meet her target. He put an arm up to deflect the kick, and used his other hand to grab her ankle, and her momentum threw her down to the ground without very little effort exerted by Ash. "You have got to be kidding me!"

"Piiikachu," the rodent cooed, crouching down. Ash sighed, dodging out of the way when the trio all attacked at once, feeling a sting when a dagger just barely nicked him.

"Thunderwave, full power!" he yelled, pulling his cloak up as he dove to the ground, pressing a hand against the steel floor, and using the material as a shield as he felt the electricity coarse throughout the room and through him and Pikachu. There were screams of surprise, and three loud thuds as they hit the floor, their muscles frozen in place. Peeking at them, Ash quickly stood. "I'm sorry. I don't want to hurt you."

With an almost exaggerated flourish, he took to the staircase, leaving the three paralyzed forms behind.

- - -

Lance ducked, and shot an arm out to catch the Master off guard, his lips turned down into a frown. Ever since the massive battle had started, something at the back of his mind had nagged at him, pulling at him, demanding attention that he had no time to give. "May!" he shouted, drawing his sword across a Trainer's legs, and darted away. " You need to go to the headquarters!"

"Why?" she asked, putting her hands out, palms facing a group of Masters, and watched as they froze, ice forming around them. Lance struggled past the fighting and the sculptures, and pushed her off into the shadows of one of the alleys.

"We all know what's happening. Ash would be there by now, and he's most likely on his way to find Gary, if he hasn't already." May stared at him, and Lance sighed, continuing. " You know as well as I do that he'll go straight after Kiall once he's finished with Gary. You have to know that not even he'll be able to function using that much energy up in a short period of time. He's going to need your help, May."

"Even if he will never admit it." They turned to look as Fox joined them, looking none the worse for wear. "Lance is right, but Ashura is going to most likely fight against the very thought of needing someone to aid him again."

"At any rate, he'll need the support." Lance said, his brows lowering in thought, "Even if it isn't showing, Ash is in no condition to run into two fights in one day without a rest between. Mentally or physically."

Watching the battle rage on, May's shoulders drooped slightly, and she pulled the poke ball she needed out, and recalled Sneasel. Curiously, Lucia and Fiona hurried over. "Go help Misty and Paran," she suggested quietly, jumping onto the ice bird's back with Lucia. "If anything happens, get away from the headquarters."

Letting out a long, sweet tune, Fiona spread her wings out, and took flight. "I hope they'll be alright," May said, listening as the sound of the battle started growing fainter.

The small pokemon's ears drooped.


	20. Chapter Twenty: The Unlikely Savior

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Pokemon, its characters, locations, or names. All of them, with the exception of the original characters, belong to Nintendo

Credits: The original fanfiction Shadow League was based off, Pokemon Master, was written by Acey. I retrieved permission before starting this the first time. "Paran" is the property of Elemental Sorceress, who had requested that I include her in my fanfiction. "Shadow Fox" is the property of Shadow Fox 05, who also requested that I include him in my fanfiction.

A/N: I am very happy right now. Why, you ask? I just got to saw Pokemon the First Movie on TV just now. That makes me mucho happy because I've been wanting to watch that...now if only they'd show Pokemon Heroes!

Ah, yes. We're almost to the end. One more chapter after this one and we're done with Shadow League. Anyone sad about that?

OK, OK, I know, no one is. XD

Warnings: The pairing in this is RivalSibling. This fan fiction has a lot of violence and gore, not to mention some language, and implied rape/sex. Not for kids, that's for sure.

- - -

**Chapter 20: The Unlikely Savior**

Ash watched out of the window, his hands resting lightly on the sill, regarding the cloud-filled sky thoughtfully. "Hello, Ashura," a voice broke in.

He scowled, and turned to face his enemy. "Hello, Gary. It's been a long time...yet, it's not been long enough."

Gary's lip curled into a smirk as he shut the door. "How's my sister, Ash?" he asked, "I am surprised by her, really. I had expected one of the other Masters to get to her, if you catch my drift."

Ash tensed up, his eyes narrowing menacingly in displeasure, and Gary knew he'd hit a few nerves with his statement. He expected the angry man to lash out at any time...

...and thought correctly, as dark lightning forked across the ever darkening clouds and Ash bolted across the room towards him. He barely dodged the kick that had been aimed at his face, and laughed. "Ah, temper, temper, Ash!" Gary sneered, blocking the punch that came in and launched one of his own, connecting with the Shadow Master's jaw, then taking a similar hit. "You must learn to control that! Especially considering that you yourself did the very thing you despise, twice!"

Ash froze, staring at him as he paled. "Never." he said, hands balling in shaking fists, and he glared at Gary, "I would never do such a thing, and especially not to May!"

"What a sad, naive denial that is," the Ground Master snickered, and Pikachu hissed at him. "What about in Sabrina's tower, hm? Surely you can't debate about what happened there. And even at Fuschia City?"

"That was not me in that tower!" Ash seethed, grinding his teeth angrily. "That was Mazin, and you know it. And Fuschia...Fuschia...we...she...agreed..." He faltered.

"Ah, going on the defensive, are we Ash? I am not one to lie...that often...you're correct, she did. Hell, she suggested it." Ash narrowed his eyes then.

"How would you know?" he asked, glancing at Pikachu. He was growing increasingly uncomfortable as time went on. Gary shrugged nonchalantly.

"I had my sources. Though, I must ask, do you even know why?" Gary shot at him, and Ash backed off, looking at him warily. "Surely it wasn't because there was no choice, as I am sure you've talked yourself into believing. Oh no-" Gary laughed humorlessly. "-It is nothing like that."

Ash crossed his arms, watching him. Gary continued talking, eyes glowing in amusement. "Oh, how she knew how badly you were suffering, being trapped by your own demons...what a dilemma it is, either suffer fighting them, or let it go and have more blood spilled for it, isn't it? Of course, I'd hope we both know that wouldn't be her only reason for letting you have at her after such a long, _agonizing_ separation." He smirked. "Lust is such a powerful motivator. Regardless of how she acts, she's exactly like most of the female population that hasn't been traumatized by...past events you've caused. Don't you know? You're thought of as the-" He snorted disdainfully. "-tall, dark, handsome knight in shining armor. It astounds me."

"What of it?" Ash asked, his irritation coming out in his voice, and Pikachu's cheeks sparked when the thought of ripping Gary's head off ran through his mind.

"Patience is a virtue; try getting some. There was the issue that you two had an unspoken agreement to hate each other, or to at least try to act like it. Quite the predicament, wouldn't you agree? It's rather hard to tell someone you want to be screwed by them if you 'hate' them, to put it lightly. Don't take this the wrong way, Ashura." Gary saw his expression change to one of anger, which he assumed was not aimed at him. "She's my baby sister, and I know that she loves you – for some reason I don't wish to ponder about – and most likely has through this whole ordeal. It's a weakness, even. You should know above anyone else that love and lust share the same wall. One can lead to the other."

"What the hell do you know?" the darker man said, and Gary tilted his head, gesturing for him to elaborate. "You haven't seen May since Cerulean Tower, and I damn well know she wouldn't give someone the likes of you a summary of her life."

"I have my sources, as I said before. Even though she is currently...well, out of the loop, I suppose. It _is_ unfortunate, really." Gary smiled thinly, and pulled a poke ball out as he saw Ash glare at him, and knew he had finally connected the dots. "Let's settle this. Sandslash!"

"Yes, let me tear you to shreds," Ash said, eyeing the battling pokemon as they attacked each other. Gary laughed coldly, and pulled a sword out quietly, swinging it when he gained his footing. Ash's expression darkened as he leaped back, dodging the strikes; he swore under his breath, and gave his enemy a sour look. He had to figure out how to get the weapon away from the Ground Master...

Getting an idea at last minute, Ash dodged again, shielding against the sword, and swung around to grab the blade, chewing on his tongue as he ripped the sword out of Gary's hands, and blood seeped quickly between his fingers. "Tsk tsk, you should know better then to play with sharp objects," he said condescendingly, and Gary growled; the sword turned into dust.

Ash looked at his hands, at the crimson liquid that continued to drip from the cuts. "I am _so_ sorry," he continued, sighing sarcastically, and glanced at the small pool of blood that was forming in a crevice in the floor. "I seem to have made a dreadful mess because of this, what with my bleeding!"

"_Moron!_" Gary snapped, "Only someone brain dead would grab the end of a sword with their bare hands, and then still pull on it!"

Ash went serious then, smirking, and nodded to Pikachu to become the Shadow Blade. "Oh really? Well then, I suppose that means you most likely won't be doing the same then?"

- - -

"Pikaaachu..." Lucia peered at May, watching at she stared down at the building in deep thought. Fiona hovered above the headquarters silently, craning her short neck to look around.

"It's huge! Where would Ash be in there? I could be looking for hours." May frowned, looking at the statue of three of the Master Pokemon, and narrowed her eyes when she saw something poking up behind it. "There! Go over to that tower, Fiona!"

- - -

Ash looked at Gary, smirking when the Ground Master took his last gasping breath, beaten and bleeding. Pikachu held onto his head, standing on his shoulder as they regarded the corpse. "Hm."

Walking over to one of the windows, Ash glanced down to look at the stadium below. It was a feature of the building that not many knew about, and even less were allowed access to it. He could see small areas of the inside through the skylights, and he opened the window quietly. He pushed himself out, his eyes darting to the side when he saw movement in another window.

"Most likely just a Flying pokemon," he said to Pikachu, doing a flip off the ledge and falling feet-first down the tower, bringing his arms up to shield his eyes as he went through the glass of a skylight, the pieces showering down around him. He landed roughly, crouching down briefly as his cloak settled around him gently. Ash stood again.

There was the sound of clapping, and he frowned. "It's been awhile, Ashura!" Kiall stood in the stands, watching them enter, and smiled. "How have you both been?"

Ash looked at him sharply, as his Elemental sibling approached him. "You are a coward, Kiall." he said, ignoring the question, "Not even being one of the four Gate Keepers. You left Sabrina, Agatha, Blaine, and Gary to do it for you."

"But of course. How could I put myself as one, knowing that they would eventually die? No, no, I could not risk it, not until I could draw you out." Kiall smirked. "And you walked right into my hand. Now it is time for me to seal your fate!"

- - -

Fiona flew around the statue gracefully, circling around to get near the tower, and stopping near one of the sets of windows. May leaned forward to look in, seeing only Gary's body, and blood. "Dammit...we missed him. Land at the front, then. I need to go in."

"Chu." Lucia frowned in disapproval.

- - -

The remaining four sat in an alley, resting after their escape. They had just barely gotten away from the battle, and they had to sit idly until peace was restored and the Masters had returned to their patrolling. "It's funny." Misty said, "They just go on their orders, and soon people will be waking up and going to work...and not a single one of them know that Ash is probably already in the battle between life and death right now.

"You've been talking about Ash ever since we got in here, Shut up, will you?" Lance sighed, and rolled his eyes. Fox helped Paran carefully, her right arm broken from a strike she had taken from a Fighting-type pokemon that had taken to attacking her.

"I think all of us are worried about him." she mused, "What'll happen if he beats Kiall?"

"I...don't know, actually. I know about as much as you do, really," the Dragon Master replied, and they fell into silence, each of them hoping for the best.

- - -

Ash panted heavily, glaring at Kiall; he was already taking a beating, only a little over an hour into the battle, with his left eye bruised and swollen, and multiple cuts visible all over his body. Kiall, on the other hand, was better off, but with his own share of wounds.

Kiall smiled, looking down at the hurting man in triumph. "Having fun yet, Ashura?" he asked, and laughed. "I'm about to show you a new attack, one I bet you never considering trying to master. Have you ever heard of Hellish Whip?"

"...Hellish Whip?" Ash asked, his senses turning numb from the pain that had already been inflicted and his weariness. Kiall made a motion, and a long whip of Shadow electricity formed in his hand.

"This is to be your undoing!" Kiall hissed, and Ash twitched as the whip cracked against his back painfully. "Painful, isn't it? It will eventually kill you, of course."

He winced, and grabbed hold of the Shadow Blade, using it to push himself back up. "I will not die today!" Ash yelled, barely managing to stay upright, "You'll not defeat me!"

Kiall laughed scornfully. "You're in no condition to say so Ashura!" he said, the whip hitting the ground, and he snapped it into Ash's chest with a smile; they both looked down at the cut it had made in his shirt, at the injury it had caused. "Surrender yet?"

Defiance bubbled up inside of the shivering younger Shadow Master, adrenaline rushing through his veins as he rushed Kiall, surprising the elder when he caught him in the face with the heel of his boot angrily. "Never!" Ash said, before collapsing once more. _I should have waited. I shouldn't have ran in without resting first. May, I'm_ sorry, he thought.

Looking at the deadly whip, Ash dreaded what was about to happen, and what was to be his fate. One more hit would surely be the end...

Light flooded the stadium, blinding both adversaries. Kiall hissed in pain as Ash shook his head, rubbing his eyes as his eyesight returned, and he looked around. "What? May...no! Get out of here!" he yelled, pleading to her.

The wide doors of the stadium opened, May stood between them Lucia at her feet. "No Ash, I won't!" she said, striding towards them quickly, the Light pikachu following after. "You need help, and I'm here to give it to you!"

Kiall growled, and used the whip to knock her back from Ash. She yelped. "Lucia, change!" she cried out, and the mouse-like pokemon squealed, changing into the Shadow Blade's twin sword, the Holy Blade. "Die, you bastard!" she snapped, aiming the sword at him.

Ash watched them, his breathing quick. Letting Pikachu change back to normal, he sat back weakly, disbelief etched across his face; he'd never had to back down, let alone let someone else take over his fight. Pikachu crawled onto his lap tiredly, and he held onto the Shadow pokemon tightly, frowning.

- - -

"This is impossible!" Misty shouted, getting a sharp look from Lance when she startled him and the others. They were trying to find – and get to – the League headquarters without being caught or seen. It wasn't proving easy.

"Quiet! We'll find it. It just takes time." Fox said, looking about. Mewtwo returned, smirking triumphantly. "You've found it?"

"Two blocks away," the Psychic-type replied, pointing in the proper direction. "Look out for the statue of Master Pokemon, and you'll find it."

"Thank you, Mewtwo." Returning the cat-like pokemon, Fox nodded. "Onward then."

"Three of them...Mewtwo, Dragonite, and Rapidash." Paran looked at them. "The Rapidash reared up, Mewtwo and Dragonite on either side. I remember that."

Several minutes went by, before they finally saw the statue in question. "Aha!" Lance announced, "We're here, finally!...Now what?"

"We should stay out here. If we go in, we could have the risk of getting caught," Fox replied, and frowned.

- - -

May doubled over painfully, the shadowy veil falling to cover her; whatever it was doing, it hurt. She looked up at Kiall, who looked back calmly. "Vile Shadow...poison is very common for you people, isn't it?" he asked, "It isn't quite as affective as Kumori is, but it is still dangerous for you. It can suck out all of your energy."

Ash's blood ran cold when the word poison registered in his mind. Hopelessly, he silently ordered Pikachu to change back into the Shadow Blade, getting a good grip on the hilt when the Shadow pokemon obeyed, and glared. Frustrated, he swung and threw it at Kiall, who did a turn, and caught it before the blade could strike him. "Say goodbye, Light Mistress Marian!" Kiall said, holding the Shadow Blade in front of him, the tip aimed at her, "How ironic, that you are the be slain by your own Bonded lover's sword!"

Eyeing the glinting blade, May felt a prickling sensation, and spun to look at Ash; he'd disappeared from his spot on the ground. Just as quickly she had to bring the Holy Blade up to block Kiall's attack, the two swords ringing against each other loudly, and the battle started anew.

She took a gasping breath when the Shadow Blade cut into her arm, tearing the flesh open and blood flying, when she wasn't fast enough to dodge. The ridges tore and sawed as it was pushed through, and May screamed. "This has gone too far."

Kiall, raising an eyebrow, turned to look behind him when May's eyes widened. Ash stood several paces behind him, knees bent, hunched forward and his arms out to the sides, as if he was about pounce. At the sight of him, it felt like her stomach had dropped out, fear replacing the pain she was feeling and the weariness that Vile Shadow was inflicting.

Ash's eyes glowed a dark, menacing blood red, narrowed angrily. The bruises were gone, leaving only cuts and scrapes in multiple places. "What in hell?" Kiall said, when he crouched down, and extended the black, dragon-like wings that had sprouted out of his back.

He smirked when hundreds, if not _thousands_, of Shadow Pokemon appeared in the stands, red eyes glowing. "Ah, doesn't it feel like it was just yesterday, when you bragged that they listen to what you say?" Ash said, standing and approaching them, "I am assuming this is something you never thought could happen, that your sworn enemy could come along and steal away that control. Quite an amazing twist, wouldn't you say?"

Snapping his fingers, the Shadow Blade quivered, and shifted back into Pikachu. "What have you done?" Kiall asked, watching Ash carefully as the dark electric-type leaped and landed on the laughing Master's head.

"Oh, nothing that Ashura couldn't have done had he put his mind to it. Of course, he hasn't an idea of how to, so it has to be left to me to take care of you. Quite ironic, really, that we are so similar, yet I'm about to be the cause of your end...using your own Shadow army." The play on Kiall's own words took a moment to sink in, and Ash merely moved to stand beside May when Kiall growled.

"You are overconfident," Kiall snapped, forming a ball of Shadow energy between his hands. Ash shrugged, and smiled. As the ball grew and started glowing, Ash darted to the side, grabbing May around the waist, and jumped as the hordes of Shadow pokemon poured into the arena, and Kiall changed his aim to them. "You can not stop me this easily-"

Ash pulled his cloak up to cover their heads as they flew up through another skylight, glass shattering around them. Settling down onto the roof, May swayed on the spot, holding her arm as blood poured out. Crouching down by the broken window, he looked in, at the flashes and screams inside, and closed his eyes, putting his hands on either side. A dark shield of energy covered the hole, and all of the other skylights went black. Lightning forked across the sky when they heard a crackling noise all around the stadium, and one of the bolts struck down, the League statue breaking in three, and the part of the stadium roof being blown off.

Looking back over, his concentration on the attack broke off, and he rushed back to May as she fell into him. "You are not going to die!" Ash cried angrily, his aura flaring up when he pressed a hand against the tear, and May screamed. "Quiet, wench, I am not trying to kill you!"

The skin and muscle stitched itself together slowly, as the electricity sparked along the slash. With a final spark, it finished, the skin pink and raw were it had once been torn. Ash carefully got down onto one knee, letting May slump down. "Mazin..." she said.

"Do not thank me, as if I did this out of kindness. I didn't." Ash looked at her dully. May leaned back against him, listening to the sounds of the stadium as it creaked and groaned.

"Then why?" May asked, and he snorted.

"I do not need to give my reasons to you." Ash looked away, and May twisted to look at him. "Just be happy I saved your miserable life. I have only ever done so for two others."

"Who?" she prodded, and yelped when he pulled the same stunt he had earlier, as the roof started collapsing. "Who else did you save?"

"You can figure it out for yourself," Ash replied, alighting on another part of the roof, bouncing along until they were at a stable spot. Panting, he put her back down. May reached for his arm when he stumbled forward.

"...Ash." He turned his head to look at her, gold eyes clouded over. He smiled weakly.

"I'm sorry, May," he said softly, flopping down to sit, hunched over. He had fainted.

- - -


	21. Chapter TwentyOne: To End, or Begin?

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Pokemon, its characters, locations, or names. All of them, with the exception of the original characters, belong to Nintendo

Credits: The original fanfiction Shadow League was based off, Pokemon Master, was written by Acey. I retrieved permission before starting this the first time. "Paran" is the property of Elemental Sorceress, who had requested that I include her in my fanfiction. "Shadow Fox" is the property of Shadow Fox 05, who also requested that I include him in my fanfiction.

A/N: Final Chapter! Now I am finished with the rewrite of Shadow League. I'll possibly start on League Team...maybe. Or I might try to finish my other random fanfics. x.x Bah.

I also am intending on writing the sequel to DG come November, too, for anyone that was interested.

Warnings: The pairing in this is RivalSibling. This fan fiction has a lot of violence and gore, not to mention some language, and implied rape/sex. Not for kids, that's for sure.

- - -

**Chapter 20: The End...or the Beginning?**

"Look at that!" People shouted and pointed when there was loud squawking, and the blue Ice Legendary flew over the remains of the League statue, gliding to land carefully. They backed off, making room for the large creature, as Lance pushed through.

"Outta the way!" he shouted, "Rebellion leader coming through!" Even the League Masters and Trainers obeyed, letting him and Misty, Paran, and Fox run over to Fiona. May had by then jumped down, and was starting to try to pull Ash off with Sneasel's help. "What happened, May?"

"Help me!" she said, and the Dragon Master helped lift the unconscious man off along with Misty. "What should we do with him?"

"I'd assume we'd lay him down, most likely on his back or something," Misty replied, and everyone looked at her blankly.

"That isn't a good idea." Lance said wryly, "Misty, look at him. Does Ash _really_ look like he'd be comfortable on his back?"

"Er..." Frowning, she glanced over him, and her eyes widened in disbelief at the sight of the limp wings that swung with every movement. "On his front, then. We need to keep him from moving too much."

"Over there, in that grassy area." Fox pointed out, "The pavement will do him no good in this condition." There was a scream in the crowd.

"Ash!" Destiny fought away from the crowd, Dallas following reluctantly with the two children. "What happened?!"

"Oh." Put off by her worry, his sniffed, turning a critical look on the group. "It's just that Shadow Master man, isn't it?"

"Leave off about it!" Destiny snapped, holding Sirius and Rachel back when they started struggling to get to Ash. "Paran...oh god, Paran. What happened to him?"

The Fire Master could only shrug. "He fought Gary, then went on to try to fight Kiall." May said, "And when I got there, it ended up in the middle of my trying to stop Kiall that he'd lost control and Mazin had to save my ass and his."

"He did too much in too short of time..." Lance summarized it, getting a nod from May, and sighed.

"Does that mean...does that mean he did what he needed to do?" she asked, and they nodded grimly.

"Yes...yes it does." May gently pushed the hair that had fallen into Ash's face away as he shifted, moving into a different position. With a shout Rachel pulled away from Destiny to run at him, her arms out.

There was a resounding gasp from everyone when Ash curled into a tight ball, his wings unfolding to their full span, and wrapping around to act like a shield. "That's...incredible," Misty said, and both Lance and Fox shook their heads.

"Not very. Most creatures with wings have a similar defense mechanism that if they can't attack, they defend." Fox remarked, "It's not that surprising that in such a vulnerable state, that Ash would use it."

Rachel stood, her arms at her sides, tears welling up in her watery eyes. Destiny kneeled down to embrace the small girl, as there were screams of fear when there was a popping sound. "Ash! May!" Lance shouted.

Both had vanished.

- - -

May groaned, sitting up to rub her eyes. "Where...not this again. Wasn't it enough when Agatha did this?" she sighed, looking around, and crawling over to where Ash was laying, and pulling him up to lean against her. "Who's behind it this time?"

Red eyes appeared all around them, and she froze, wondering just where they had been taken to. "Okay...so not like what she did," she corrected, when there was a laugh, and a flash of light. "What-"

"Fear not. You both are safe here. They won't attack you, now that the imbalance has been fixed." May looked up at the two forms standing in front of them. The first one, a dark haired woman, kneeled down next to them, and carefully pulled Ash away from May. "Arise, my successor," she said, touching a fingertip against his forehead.

Ash blinked sleepily, sitting up straighter as a rush of energy coursed through him, and his injuries healed over. "That is much better," she mused.

"Who are you?" May asked, and she smiled.

"I'm...Shadow," she replied, and both Ash and May stared at her, the later amazed and the former bemused. "I suppose you wouldn't know of me, most on the other plain don't."

"What is going on?" Why're we?" he questioned, and Shadow shook her head, gesturing to her partner to approach.

"This is known as the Shadow Realm. My home. The Shadow pokemon's home." She looked away, then back at them. "Ashura, your performance has been better then anyone expected of you. You've fixed the upset that the earth-bound humans caused one thousand years ago, and managed to get through it alive. But I see that you are still having your own war."

"The Shadow Realm..." May repeated, and the dark woman ignored her in favor of paying attention to Ash, who sat listening to her patiently. Shadow carefully stood and circled around to stand behind him, pulling one of the wings out to look at the dark scales.

"Yes...yes. I can see, you and Mazin haven't found a balance with each other. You cannot retain your consciousness when he takes over, and cannot remember what happens when he does, can you?" Ash shook his head, glancing at May curiously, and she shrugged. "That won't do. We cannot have my successor having black outs...but if I could make it possible for you to remember, would you want it?"

"You will be able to see all that Mazin has done, and all that he will do when he does it," she warned. Ash closed his eyes, taking a breath.

"I don't like...knowing that he can do what he wants, and I can't do anything about it or know about it," he said, and Shadow nodded, putting her hands on his shoulders.

"So be it." Ash's eyes widened, his expression turning pained, when he heard Mazin's angry outcry in his mind, and hunched over when the memories started pouring into his own, of the ending attack that finished off the stadium, the battle with Blaine, and ones even going back to the time he was in the League. His wings shrunk back into his back. "The two of you are one in the same, even if it doesn't seem like it. What one of you can't do, the other can, and the power you both share...is enormous."

"Why did you bring us here?" May asked, restating the question, and Shadow shook her head.

"I had not meant to bring you," she said, and jerked to look at her blue haired companion, "but someone insisted."

Returning to looking at them, both Ash and May moved to stand in front of them, Shadow sighed. "This Realm has been closed off again, as it is meant to be, and in short time your plane's creatures should return to normal, except for the Masters such as yourselves." she continued, "But, Ashura, do you know why Masters come to be every thousand years?"

"What is that supposed to mean?!" May snapped, and the lighter one waved her hands.

"We were only to summon the Shadow Master, no one else," she admitted, "I wanted you both here."

"You're Light?" Ash inquired, and she nodded, getting a scowl from Shadow. "Why am I needed? And why are they made?"

"To find new guardians to replace the old ones for Shadow and Light." They both answered, and Ash gaped at them.

"They are unstable Elements," Shadow continued, "and as a Guardian, it is wearying to be of it for as long as we have to be. Every thousand years, the humans are granted the power of the Elements, and normally whoever is Shadow and Light are brought here and to the other Realm. That's how I came to be. But with the humans locking Kiall away, he couldn't, nor were you until he was finished off."

"I...would replace you."

"Yes." Ash looked at her, his eyes glowing.

"That means never returning to my home again, and never seeing any of my friends or family again?" Shadow nodded hesitantly. "And what of-"

"Marian." Light finished, and she looked at them. "She'd replace me in the Light Realm."

"The only reason Light is here is because I was made to bring you both," Shadow sighed. "Well, Ashura? What have you to say?"

He looked at May, then at the pair. "No. I won't. I can't stay here, even if it would let you go. I can't leave everyone." He clenched his fists, his eyes watering up. "And I can't leave May again! I won't. Not again."

Shadow narrowed her eyes. "You are putting mortals, and your opposite before your duty?" she snapped, "You were chosen for this!"

"Too bad," he said, "but I refuse. You were faced with this same situation before, why would you put someone else through it?"

"It's predetermined."

"Predetermined by who? You? Why would you choose to put someone else into the role you are in?" he shouted, and May took hold of his hand to try to calm him down.

"It is a lonely existence," Shadow replied, "and one that carries a great weight for one soul to handle. That is the reason for Masters, and the reason for the Shadow Master. Have you not wondered why you are the only one of your type, besides Kiall?"

"Even so, I...can't. I have to keep living on my own plane. There are things I need to do there, and people that I'd be hurting if I was made to come here." Ash looked at her determinedly. "And something I need to catch up on, that I left for too many years."

"That is your decision," Shadow said flatly, "but what of the Light Master? What has she to say?"

"I just want to go home," May replied, even though she didn't know what precisely home was or where it was.

"Then we shall wait another thousand years, and see then what will happen," Light said cheerfully, "Let them return, Shadow. Even you are not so heartless as to force either of them to do what we want."

"As you both wish."

- - -

There were yelps of surprise when both reappeared in front of the League building. It was as if very little time had passed. "Ha!" Paran threw her arms around both of them, squeezing them. "What was that?"

"You wouldn't believe us if we told you," May assured her. Ash pushed her away, and looked up toward the stone Rapidash.

"You can tell us later." Lance grinned. "Now that you've returned...you do know what you have to do?"

Ash turned his stare onto the other man. "Well, the League is without a leader now, and needs to be returned to its old self..." Misty pointed out, and he paled.

"You fools want me to take over as the new leader, and make it...oh god, I need a vacation, now." His eyes rolling up, Ash fell over backwards. He'd fainted again.


End file.
